Of True Love and Other Spells
by tititenis
Summary: It all starts with Emma bringing Marian back to Storybrooke and messing up with Regina's romantic life. What the two never suspected was that it was all a well laid plan and that they, falling in love with each other, was just destiny playing it's card at a bigger event that will require the True Love of the Savior and the Evil Queen.
1. It Started with Time Traveling

**Author's note: **Hello! So because of all the craziness that has been going on in my life, I haven't updated this story in a long time. Still, I decided to edit and redo all of the chapters (since my writing has improved) and re-upload them. Thank you for your support and reviews and suggestions are always welcomed.

* * *

"You... You did this?" She saw Regina ask her on the verge of tears.

"I just wanted to save her life." Emma whispered, completely in shock with what had just happened in front of her. It turns out that the woman that she had saved from being executed by Regina was the ex-late wife of Robin Hood.

"You are just like your mother." Regina spat angrily. "Never thinking of consequences."

When Emma heard this she flinched, completely in shock of how right Regina was. The one thing everyone kept telling her was to not mess with the past, and in Emma-like fashion, what was the first thing that she did? Mess with the past.

"I didn't know." she tried to reason again with Regina. She needed to make her understand that it was all a very bad misunderstanding.

"Of course you didn't." Regina said sarcastically, clearly not believing Emma at all. She started to move away and head for the door, almost as if Emma was the plague. Nevertheless, before leaving she turned and faced her again. "Well, you just better hope you didn't bring anything else back." she finished saying and ran for the door, tears falling from her eyes.

Emma immediately headed for the exit too. The two of them had come too far. Hell, Regina was even teaching her magic! She couldn't let all that go away, and there was also the fact that she truly felt guilty. She had ruined Regina's happiness. Again.

"Regina, please wait." Emma pleaded to the woman who was looking at the sky in a clear attempt to stop herself from losing her self-control.

"Not now Swan." Regina barely managed to answer.

"I'm sorry." Emma tried to say, the words coming out of her mouth like ramblings because of her nervousness. "When I brought Marian back I didn't know who she was. I didn't intend to cause you pain." she finished the last part softly, her eyes trying to find Regina's, trying to make her see them and find that she was telling the truth.

Regina looked at Emma, and although she saw the honesty there, she was just too hurt to rationalize things. "Well, your intentions really don't matter because once again I've felt the brunt of heroism. Always the villain, even when I'm not." Regina scoffed the last part.

"What was I supposed to do?" Emma asked Regina.

"Well you were dumb enough to travel through time." Regina answered sarcastically. "Perhaps you should have left things well enough alone."

Emma looked down at her feet. She knew Regina was right, but at the same time her pride was telling her that she had also made the right choice. "I'm not gonna apologize for saving someone's life."

Regina looked up, clearly amused by Emma's reasoning. "She was to die anyway. Why does it matter?" she almost cried the last part.

Emma felt truly sorry for Regina. She knew that if Regina were faced with the exact same situation she would have done the same thing. She took a deep breath. "It matters because she is a person. and whatever she did, she didn't deserve to die."

"Maybe she did." she spat angrily at Emma, who immediately recoiled.

Without thinking Emma answered, hurt by Regina's anger. "Well you would know. I saved her from you."

Emma saw that Regina held her breath after Emma's words, the meaning behind them hurting her more than any other thing that the two discussed. Emma immediately felt bad and in a clear need to apologize. _Shit, I can really be an asshole sometimes, _she thought to herself.

"The woman who did that." she heard Regina's voice fail her at that point. "That was the person I was not the person I am." Emma immediately grabbed herself, feeling sorry for questioning Regina's path towards redemption. Hell, she was doing things all wrong.

"I worked very hard to build a future, a future that is now gone." Regina finished angrily.

Emma instantly flinched at that. "You don't know that."

"I know that its complicated enough that his dead wife is back!"

Emma felt herself move backwards because of the strength of Regina's anger. "Regina for that I'm sorry. if there is anything I can do..."

"Miss Swan, the more you try to help, the worse my life becomes." Regina finished sadly.

Emma was going to refute this, but before she even got a chance she heard the voice of Robin Hood and Marian coming from Granny's. _Shit, shit, shit, _was the only thing that came to Emma's mind.

"She is a monster!" Marian screamed while pointing at Regina, who looked on the verge of collapse.

_Come on, say something, defend Regina, _Emma was mentally begging Robin. The asshole did the opposite. "I want us to talk about this." he said while unconsciously placing his hand on top of Regina's.

Marian noticed this. "Wait are you two... Are you two together?" she said in clear disbelief.

Regina looked heartbroken at this.

"Marian, please." Robin tried to explain, clearly trying to buy himself more time. _Stupid fool, _Emma thought.

"You and the Evil Queen?" Marian spat the last part. "Did you let her near my son?" she asked in anger, trying to grab the child from where he was standing.

_Regina... What have I done to you? _Emma felt herself on the verge of tears, the pain that this woman from the past was making Regina feel hurting her as much as if they were meant for her.

"Do you know what she has done? The terrible things..." Marian continued rambling, a clear attempt at trying to hurt Regina even more.

"Is everything ok?" Emma heard her mother, Snow, say from afar.

"No one's been incinerated yet, which is a good sign." Charming said, trying to somehow make the situation lighter. Emma scolded a little at her father.

"Regina, you alright?" Snow asked her stepmother. _Thank you mom, _Emma thought a little happily.

Marian looked at Snow in complete shock. "What? What is wrong with you people? Why are you talking to her? Don't you know who she is?!" she asked loudly the last part.

Emma was going to answer, but before she had a chance she saw Henry coming from the diner, clearly concerned about his Mom.

"Mom, what is going on?" he asked Regina.

Regina flinched a little, everyone able to see that she was heartbroken about having Henry here, hearing the atrocities that she did as the Evil Queen.

"She's a monster. She wants to kill us all!" Marian screamed while grabbing her child.

"She is my mother!" Henry said firmly back at her, earning the complete silence from the grownups. He looked at Robin angrily. "You, you should have defended her before this all started. I believe you and your wife have a lot to talk about." he motioned for them to leave, and surprisingly the couple did. Henry then looked at Emma, clearly disappointed. "And as the Sheriff, you should enforce all citizens to maintain order and respect, which is something that woman was clearly not doing." he looked at his mother and hugged her tightly.

"I will see you at home." he whispered only for her to hear, immediately understanding that what his mom needed right now was some time alone.

"Thank you Henry, for loving me." Regina chocked out, the tears falling from her eyes and trying her best to remain in control of her emotions.

Emma immediately saw Regina's calmness crumble, but instead of attacking or using magic she just turned around and started to leave the group.

_I have to do something, I can't let her leave like this. Not like this, _Emma said to herself. "No, she is... Regina!" she was getting ready to chase her and clear things out.

"Don't, love." she heard Hook from behind. "Nothing good comes from chasing that woman."

Henry just scoffed loudly. "Seriously? You are all a bunch of hypocrites, telling my mother that her path towards redemption has started and that you are now allies, but a person attacks her and all you do is silently stare at the scene." he then looks at Emma. "I thought you were friends."

"We are." Emma whispered.

"Well, you didn't act like one today." Henry said sadly. "Listen, I know you didn't plan this, but you hurt my mom, badly. I suggest you stay away from her."

"But... I want to apologize." Emma stuttered.

"We all know that right now my mom is not ready for any apologies. Just make sure no one comes to bother her." he said firmly and hugged his grandparents. "I will sleep at Mifflin until further notice." he told them while separating from the group.

Everyone seemed to agree with Henry, and knowing Regina, she knew he was right. But nevertheless, she just felt too guilty, too responsible. She had to go and clear things out, no matter what Henry told her or Regina expected from them. Still, she did want to give Regina a little heads up, so she took her phone out and called her. When there was no answer she lowered herself on the steps of Granny and looked towards the alley where Regina ran away.

* * *

It had been one week since that night and no sign of Regina. Yes, there were no problems and calamities that required her presence, but still, Emma was devastated when she found out that the only person that knew about Regina's whereabouts was Henry. And Henry, being his usual protective and loyal self, refused to tell Emma anything that concerned her Mom because Regina had asked him not to.

"Come on Henry, at least let me know how she is doing." Emma begged him for the eleventh time.

"I won't break the promise I did to Mom, Ma. She doesn't want anyone to know about her and, as long as she is not doing something to harm others, which she stopped doing a long time ago, I won't break that promise." he said seriously.

Emma groaned and hid her face under the pillow so that she could scream. "I want to know. Hell, I have been trying to know! She won't answer my phone calls, she refuses to open the door when I knock and when I see her at the grocery store she just walks straight through me."

"You know, both of you are right." Henry said while grabbing the apples that he had brought from Regina's. "You had to save Marian's life because that is what heroes do, and you are a hero. Still, you did mess up with my Mom's happiness and complicated things for her."

"I know Henry! Why do you think I feel like crap." Emma said sadly.

"Does she know that you feel like this?" Henry asked sarcastically.

"Maybe?" Emma lowered her gaze and grabbed an apple that instantly got rotten. "What the hell?"

"Forget to tell you, Mom enchanted them."

"What did Regina enchant?" Snow asked while coming down and instantly getting an apple from the basket. "Apples from Regina's tree!" she said in delight while biting one. "Mmmm, I swear these are the best."

"That." Henry said while pointing at them.

"Why can Snow eat them and not me?" Emma asked angrily.

"She enchanted them so that when only you grab one it will rot." Henry said clearly amused. "So don't even think about getting any more."

"Getting what?" Charming asked from the door, clearly tired after his shift at the station. "Are those apples from Regina's tree?" he said while grabbing one and eating it. "I will never say this to her, but these are the best apples ever." he said happily.

"That." Henry answered again, almost laughing at his Ma's angry face. "Emma can't eat apples from the basket."

"Unless I want them to get all rotten." she said sadly. "That is so not fair."

"Life isn't fair." Snow said softly. "And it hasn't been a rainbow life for Regina."

"You don't have to tell me that, I know." Emma exhaled.

She had told Snow about her magic lessons with Regina and how they had managed to become friends. Sometimes they shared stories about Henry and him growing up. Other times, it was about their past. About Emma's time in the foster system and how it related to life in the Enchanted Forest. Nevertheless, one day they had done this spell that forced them to share their deepest secrets with the first person that asked them something. Still, in fear of someone like Henry asking them, the two had decided to ask each other before anyone else could.

(Beginning of Flashback)

_"So Miss Swan." Regina asked lightly, the effects of the spell making all seriousness and sorrow disappear. "What is your deepest secret?" _

_Emma laughed at Regina's question, although deep deep inside she was completely terrified. Still, the effect of the spell was strong, and without thinking about it she started to open up. "When I was 10 I went to live with this family." Emma started to say while looking at the wall. "And at first I thought they were wonderful: They fed me three times a day, let me watch television, bought me new clothes and toys and seemed to like me. You know." Emma looked at Regina and smiled softly. "I thought that maybe I was worth loving, that this was it, my chance at happiness." _

_"And what happened?" Regina asked softly. _

_"It was all a lie, a farce so that they could get the money from the government. As soon as the visits from the social worker ended my life became hell. I became their little slave, their little maid. I had to clean, iron, cook and do all the chores while the two of them used the money that they were supposed to be investing in me for buying drugs. But I still thought that it wasn't so bad, because you know, they were not hitting me and I had a roof and a bed." Emma contemplated in silence. "The beatings started two weeks later, and they were smart enough to hit me in places where the bruises wouldn't be seen. How they were able to think of that while being so high is still surprising to me, but even after all of that I still thought that I was fortunate enough. I had my own room and bed while many children at orphanages had to share and were even unable to have one." _

_"Please, tell me that they stopped there." Regina said silently, tears falling freely from her eyes. _

_"I can't." Emma whispered while openly crying. "He came into my room, and I pretended to be asleep because I was afraid that he would hit me again. But when nothing happened I opened my eyes and saw him naked. He was naked and taking the blankets away from my legs. And then he lowered himself over me, and it was horrible. I could feel him getting excited, and I was so confused, so lost. I didn't know what that meant, and when he asked me to keep quiet I did. It wasn't until I felt him entering me that I started to scream. It was so painful." Emma was sobbing the last parts. Although she wanted to stop she was unable to, the truth spell making her retell all of the memory until the end, relieving it. "And when he finally finished he left me there. I was so scared, and I didn't understand what had happened, so I just gathered what little I had and went back to the foster home. When they saw me, and after telling them what had happened, they arrested them." Emma finished, immediately feeling arms around her. _

_She started to cry more when she saw that Regina was hugging and whispering sweet, calming words. The words turned to soft kisses on her cheek, and after a couple of minutes she felt like she was breathing again. Without her knowing it, she had gone into a complete emotional breakdown, and in front of Regina. Regina, who was known as the Evil Queen and yet here she was crying and hugging her. Life is truly full of complexities. _

_"You know, I'm happy that they paid for what they did and that I stopped them from doing it to other kids." Emma whispered. _

_"You are so so brave." Regina agreed while grabbing her hand and squeezing. "What happened made you the wonderful person you are today Emma. And even from that age you were taking care and saving others." _

_Emma laughed at this. "I guess I have always been that Charming." _

_Regina smiled softly. "Your parent's child." _

_"Thank you." Emma whispered. _

_"Anytime."_

(End of Flashback)

"Ma? Did you go somewhere?" Henry asked amused.

Her mom had dozed off in the middle of the debate that Snow and Charming were having about red and green apples. Turns out that only her Mom had the capacity of creating debates and discussions about very random things. He had to give it to her, she did manage to keep the people from Storybrooke from forgetting about her.

"And did you hear that Robin Hood also went to see Regina?" Charming said, making Emma instantly flinch.

"What did he have to say this time? Finally managed to remember to defend Regina?" Emma spat angrily, upset that the man had been able to speak to the brunette.

Everyone looked surprised at the blonde, who until now had been in her own world.

Henry smirked a little. He had seen from very close how her two moms had developed a very strong friendship. It had started after Regina promised to teach Emma how to control her magic, and in the months in which they had fought the Wicked Witch of the West, they had grown to actually trust each other very deeply. Without them knowing, Henry had been witness to some of their magic practices, specially one where they were using the spell of truth. It almost broke his heart when he heard his Ma talk about her time in the foster system and the horrors that she had been a victim to. It shocked him how comforting and sweet his Mom had been. How she hugged and kissed Emma while whispering encouraging compliments. He knew that was the way she had taken care of him when he was hurt, and in Henry's books, his Mom only treated the people she cared about that way.

"Come on Emma, don't be so tough on the guy." Charming started to defend Robin, which made Emma become more pissed. "His wife was dead."

"And then I brought her back in time, which did bring her back to life." Emma whispered. "Still, that doesn't make me think less of him."

"Well, when you are each other's True Love's there is no commitment that can even compare to that?"

"True Love?" Emma whispered. _Could it be true that Robin, that idiot from the forest, is Regina's True Love? _

"That's what people are saying." Snow said quietly. "It started in the Enchanted Forest during the missing year and somehow they continued it in Storybrooke."

Henry saw how Emma lowered herself in her seat, clearly taken aback with what his grandparents were telling her. It made him start to wonder if Emma was upset about his Mom being happy. Didn't she think that she deserved a second chance at happiness? If she did, then why was she reacting so poorly at Robin's attempt to keep a relationship with his Mom.

"I don't like it." Emma said angrily. "I mean, he has a wife and a son! He has a family to take care of. A family that he now has back."

"Aren't you being a little too black and white in this matter?" Charming asked surprised by Emma's bluntness. He would have expected it from Snow or Henry, but not from Emma. "I mean, she does share a son with you already."

"It's not the same!" Emma screamed while finally standing up. "Don't you see how unfair it is for Regina? Every time she finds a family that loves her, something or someone comes and takes away her main role in the family. When Henry came to find me, no one stopped to think that Regina had been Henry's Mom for far longer than me, but merely stated that I had more rights because I gave birth to him." she looked at her parents and Henry, who immediately felt guilty. He had been one of those people. "And now, after all this time where she has been taking care of Roland and Robin, Marian comes back and insults her in front of Henry and still she is the one that is unhappy. Tell me then, why the hell is he still trying to contact her when he is the one that got the best deal in this whole big drama?" Emma said while grabbing her keys.

"Where are you going?" Snow whispered.

Her daughter was completely right, and it made her feel sorry for Regina. But still, ever since they had started to practice magic together, there was a change in Emma. She saw how Emma willingly started to defend and protect Regina, even managing to see the same sassy remarks and gestures coming from her daughter. She also knew that the guest room in Regina's house now belonged to Emma because of all the times that she had stayed there for dinner night or magic night. In fact, there were more clothes of her daughter at Regina's place than at the apartment nowadays. _Could it be? _Snow thought to herself. _Could it be that Emma has feelings for Regina? _

"I'm going to Regina's place and demand for Regina to see me." Emma said. "And I will stay the whole night at her porch if I have to."

"And what about me?" Henry asked. "You do have to take me to school tomorrow."

"I can take him." Charming offered while smiling. "Don't you worry."

"Thank you." Emma smiled softly and took an apple without thinking, it immediately rotting. "I swear I will..." Emma started mumbling while leaving the apartment.

"Soooo...You think she will manage to go pass the porch?" Snow asked while smiling softly.

"10 bucks that she stays there." Charming says to Henry. "We can pass by there on your way to school."

Henry smiles. "You are on."

"Wait... Shouldn't we be worried about Regina trying to kill Emma?" Snow asks herself more than the two men left in the apartment.

"I know she has taught Ma some defense spells, so she is safe." Henry said while smiling. "Besides, my Ma kinda deserved that silent treatment." he added seriously. "You don't think she doesn't want my Mom to be happy, right?"

"Of course not Henry!" Snow immediately rose and went to stand next to him. "I think Emma is just worried about your Mom and her feelings. You see, with us adults, to be in love is not so easy, and complications make love more difficult."

"Like Robin's wife coming back?" Henry asks.

"Exactly like that." Snow says, remembering how she lived the same situation with Charming and Katherine during the curse. "And when there is a child in between, things are even more complicated. Emma just wants to know that Robin doesn't hurt Regina's feelings."

Henry nodded. "So Mom is just being a good friend."

Charming and Snow nodded.

"Then I guess tomorrow we will find out who won the bet." Henry finally said while smiling softly.

* * *

Emma knew that she was driving way past the speed limit, but then again, she was the sheriff. After hearing her parents talk about Regina and Robin being True Loves, for some strange reason she felt like throwing up. The moment Robin's wife appeared, an uncommon hatred for the man was created. She disliked him, and when she saw him on the streets with his wife and son, although she felt sorry for the child, the parents were her least favorite people. She didn't blame Marian so much because she literally came from the past, but Robin was a different story. Completely selfish and absorbing, it wasn't enough for him to cause Regina heartbreak, but he also had to go to her house and remind her of the impossibility of them being together. This made Emma fume angrily and step more on the gas pedal, which in turn had her parking her yellow bug outside of the mayoral mansion in two minutes.

_Ok, now, now I need to grow some balls and knock, _Emma chastised herself for her crude language. She started to walk towards the front porch, and after taking a deep breath, she rang the bell.

"Who is it?" she heard Regina ask from behind the door.

"It's me."

Instead of an answer she heard the knowing sounds of heels heading away from the door.

"No Regina, please wait." Emma begged. "I want to talk to you."

More silence.

Emma was determined, and after some more minutes of total quietness she decided to sit down on the porch. "You know, I'm not leaving until we talk." she threatened. "I don't care about sleeping on the porch. In fact, I have slept in worse places."

She doesn't know how long it actually was, because she fell asleep, but the clicks of heels and the soft sound of a door opening made Emma jump to a standing position. In front of her was a very angry but yet very beautiful Regina Mills. She was wearing her white satin pajamas, and from what Emma could deduce, had already tucked herself into bed.

"Regina." Emma whispered.

"Are you really going to stay there the whole night?" Regina asked quietly while motioning for her to come in.

"If that means talking to you, then yes." Emma said while making her way for the couch in the study without asking for directions.

"Why, Miss Swan, would you do that?"

"Because no matter what you may think, I'm your friend and I hate to see you in any kind of pain." Emma said honestly while sitting down and staring at the fireplace.

Regina smiled softly and took a seat next to Emma. "I know you did not truly intend to cause me pain, Miss Swan."

"Is it going to be like that then?" Emma asked sadly. "Am I going back to being Miss Swan to you?"

"What you did, it really hurt me Miss Swan. Not because of the fact that you brought Marian back. We both know that I would have done the same have I been in your position. What hurt me the most was that you say you are my friend behind closed doors but in public act almost as my enemy."

"Regina..."

"No." Regina stopped the blonde from arguing. "Do not deny it because it is the truth. Were it not for Henry that night, you would have allowed a woman you barely know to hurt me, to cause me pain and sorrow. And after all we have shared... That was what made me, makes me, feel so ill towards you Miss Swan. Your cowardice."

Emma nodded and grabbed Regina's hand. "I would never do anything to cause you pain. Please believe me." she said the last part sadly. "I am truly sorry, Regina, because you are the only person that understands me, that knows my past and still speaks to me as if nothing has changed your perception of me." she started to cry softly. "Since the moment I told you about my foster family you have been such a good friend, protected me from my nightmares and shame. And I, when I had to, allowed a 13 year old boy do what I was supposed to do."

"And what were you supposed to do, Miss Swan?"

"Protect you." Emma whispered.

Although she had tried her best at remaining upset, it was impossible to do so with Emma crying so openly. She had grown to truly care about her, which is what made the blonde's betrayal hurt even more. The moment she enchanted the apples she knew what they would force Emma to do because the Savior thought more with her stomach than with her brain: To be denied something as food, and be the only person in the room denied of it, would make Emma come knock on her door and demand answers. She knew all of this, and was expecting her friend to do so from the moment she placed the enchantment on the fruits. But now she was here, baring her soul to her, asking her for forgiveness. Was she capable of giving it to her? She just had to look into deep, emerald green eyes and knew the answer right away.

"Why are you crying?" Regina asked surprised. "I was the one that got the bad part of the deal. You came back to your family and boyfriend."

"Hook?" Emma asked surprised. "We aren't together." she whispered. "I couldn't."

"Because of what happened to me. To assuage your guilt?" Regina asked angrily.

"No, you're twisting my words." Emma said. "You always do that."

"Do what?"

"Draw your own conclusions and assume that they are the only reality."

"And this one is not?" she asked sarcastically.

"Not completely, because I do feel guilty. But I'm not with him because he is in love with an ideal of me that is sadly not real." Emma said seriously. "He knows the Emma who is brave and the Savior. He gave his boat away for that Emma."

Regina nodded softly. "And that is not the Emma you think you are."

Emma nodded. "The only person in Storybrooke that knows about the real Emma is you." she whispered. "The Emma that is selfish and only wants to be left alone. The Emma that is scared of the future and what it means for her family to have a new baby." she said angrily. "You know and accept that Emma. And I think that before this happened, you even liked that Emma."

Regina laughed softly. "I like that Emma because I understand that Emma. And I also find tolerant Savior Emma."

Emma smiled warmly. "Thank you."

"For what, I haven't done anything."

"For being my friend Regina." Emma said while grabbing Regina's other hand and squeezing. "Even when during the last week I haven't been yours."

"Emma." she said while looking at the blonde woman who gave her a shiny smile the moment she heard her name coming out of her. "I'm not so good at doing this. At being friends."

Emma smiled. "Don't worry, I am also not good at it. I guess that means we will have to learn with each other."

Regina smiled. "I guess so too."

Emma yawed. "Now that we are friends again, you wouldn't mind if I..."

"Do you even have to ask now?" Regina said surprised. "I guess I should give you the silent treatment more often."

Emma smirked. "Funny you. You know, I do have manners."

"Which you obviously never use."

"With you. I never use them with you because I know how pissed you get."

Regina raised her eyebrow at Emma's remark. "Yes, because of that and your foul vocabulary. Please tell me that you do not say them in front of Henry."

"Can I say that I try not to?" Emma smiles innocently.

"And talking about Henry, who will take him to school tomorrow?"

"My dad will drop him before going to the station." Emma says and then remembers what motivated her to come. "And talking about Henry. Very nice of you to put that spell on your apples. You know how much I love them."

Regina gulps softly at Emma's innuendo, which in turns makes Emma realize what she just said. "By your apples, I meant the ones that come from the tree, not like your apples like from your body because that would be weird and..."

"Emma stop." Regina says embarrassed. "I got it. And that happens when you piss me off."

Emma smiles. "You said the word."

"So that you would understand the insult."

"I am getting to you." Emma sing-songs while making her way to the guest room.

"You are insufferable." Regina tries to say seriously but still smiles a little.

"And you love it." Emma says from the bathroom of the guest room. "Regina?" the blonde called her again.

"Yes?"

"Do you really forgive me?" she whispered, afraid.

"I am starting to." the brunette answered honestly.

"Ok." Emma accepted and headed towards _her _room. "Good night and thank you Regina."

"You are welcome." Regina says. "Although you are already forgiven." she whispers quietly while leaving the blonde and heading for her own room.


	2. Gigantic A-Hole

The last thing that Regina was expecting to have was another visit from Robin Hood. After ignoring him the first time, she had hoped that he would just stop coming. Every time she saw him she felt the pain of rejection and the reminder of what they did inside her crypt. It hadn't been wrong at the time they did it, but now that his wife was back it just made her feel disgusted with herself. If there was one thing that she truly despised was infidelity, and although she portrayed this seductive and sexually open persona with the Evil Queen, she had never gotten involved with a taken individual during her time as queen. To having done so here in Storybrooke, during her time of redemption, made her feel ill to her stomach. She had just gotten Henry back, and damn her messed up love life, she was not going to risk her true happiness (Henry) by messing things up with the person who Tinkerbell said could be her True Love. _Damn fairies and damn pixie dust, _Regina scolded herself mentally. Still, until yesterday she was clearly upset with the blonde who was responsible for all the drama in her life, and after refusing to talk with her (and the rest of people in the town), the only person that was able to update her about the commonalities of Storybrooke was Henry himself. On the day of Emma's arrival and sudden forgiveness, they had talked about her for a while.

(Beginning of Flashback)

_"You know, she has nightmares." Henry said while eating his sandwich. "She says that it's nothing, but I heard her once wake up after one and apologize to you non-stop." _

_Regina looked up from her book and stared at her son, who without knowing had given her enough motivation to stop hating her blonde friend. "She does?" she tried to ask with neutrality. _

_"I know that tone Mom, and I know you care." he said while smiling softly. "There is nothing wrong with caring about Ma. I know you two became friends."_

_"Friends do not hurt each other the way Emma hurt me." Regina said automatically. _

_"You are right, they don't. But when they do, they try to apologize, and to my knowledge, that is all Emma has tried to do since the incident at Granny's." Henry scolded her back. _

_Regina couldn't help but smile softly at her son's reasoning. Somehow she had managed to do good by him and raise him right. No matter her past deeds, Henry was her biggest gain in all of it. That's why she had no regrets at all. Did she feel sorry? Yes, she did, and every day she had to live with her demons. But no regret. Regret came from feeling unsatisfied with the way life was, and Regina had none. Her son had forgiven her and she had a friend with Emma. True, she still felt bad about Robin Hood, but before he entered her life she was happy with the way it was. _

_"I guess you are right." she said softly. _

_Henry smiled. "I'm always right."_

_"Now do not be so cocky about it." Regina scolded him softly and then looked at the clock. "You need to go now if you want to make it to your grandparents' apartment before dark." _

_Henry nodded and ran upstairs to get his things. Meanwhile Regina took out a basket and placed a big number of apples on it. She smiled and gave it to Henry when he came back down. _

_"Here, we have too many anyway." she tried to say without caring. _

_"Are they for everyone?" he played with her while laughing. _

_Regina laughed too and placed her hand over the basket, immediately placing a rotting spell that would only activate when Emma's magic touched them. "Well, everyone except Miss Swan." _

_"You know she will come to complain about being the only one that wasn't allowed to eat them." he started to say while heading for the door while laughing. _

_Regina laughed with him. "And why do you think I am placing the spell to begin with?"_

(End of Flashback)

So when she heard noises in the kitchen that morning she quickly covered herself and went down the stairs in a clear attempt to scold the blonde for all the noise she was making.

"Really Emma, can you be any louder?" she asked sarcastically while entering the kitchen.

Instead of seeing long blonde hair and green eyes staring at her brightly she saw Robin giving her a seductive smile.

"What are you doing here?" Regina asked sternly.

She could see how Robin's smile disappeared after that. "Regina, I had to see you."

"I thought I made it clear that I did not want to see you Robin. But, of course you again go against my wishes and do what you want." she said bitterly the last part.

"I thought you wanted to see me as much as I wanted to see you Regina. I have missed you." he said while trying to hug her.

Regina let herself be hugged, but instead of feeling the usual tingles that she felt in her stomach she felt bile rise to her throat.

"I cannot do this, you are married and you have a family of your own." she said while separating herself from him.

"I don't love her." he pleaded with her. "Because I fell in love with you."

"That is not fair." Regina told him bitterly. "This is not my fault."

"I'm not blaming you." he said while smiling and invading her space again. "I'm just saying that love isn't fair."

"So what if I agree with you then? What would you do? Would you abandon your wife in this new world? Would you leave your son?" Regina asked sarcastically.

Robin flinched by her remarks. "That does not have to happen."

"So you want the best of both worlds then." Regina laughed angrily. "The wife and the lover in one big family."

"You know I didn't mean it like that."

"Yes you did, and you are too naive and selfish to even see it." Regina screamed the last part. "God, I guess that is why you were a thieve."

Robin got angry with that last part. "I robbed the rich to feed the poor."

"So then it is good to do something bad if it will help good people?" Regina asked. "Good people defined by yourself, let me remark."

"You know, you are the least indicated person to judge my sins." he reminded her angrily. "You are the Evil Queen!" he screamed.

Regina flinched, her decision of not getting herself further involved with the man solidifying itself with each exchange of words. Robin, realizing what he had said, tried to approach her.

"Regina, I didn't mean it..."

"Just leave Robin." Regina said bitterly.

"No." he said stubbornly and kept approaching her. "We can be together."

"I do not want to be with you, not anymore." Regina said decidedly.

"But you gave me your heart! You trusted me with it." he screamed.

"Which clearly was a mistake." she spat at him.

Robin kept moving forward.

"If you do not stop I will use my magic."

"No you won't." Robin said while grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards him. "Because I know you Regina, and I know that this..." she pointed at the two of them struggling. "Is what you want. You want me to fight for you."

"I do not want that!" Regina screamed.

"If you want me to give up my family I will." the thieve promised and Regina blanched. "For you I will."

"If you did that, I would grow to hate you for making such a decision with me as an excuse."

"An excuse? You think this." he bumped his hip, with his obvious erection, against her. "Is a simple whim?"

Regina immediately closed her eyes and felt the tears coming. _Is this the man pixie dust told me was my soul mate? _she screamed internally. This man, who is grabbing me against my will and will probably rape me?

"I suggest you let her go and leave." she heard Emma say angrily from the door.

Robin flinched, not expecting the unwanted company, and before she even rationalized her actions, she ran straight for Emma's arms and hugged her.

"Oh Emma." she started crying softly.

"Did he touch you or do anything more than this?" Emma asked fiercely while looking down at the man and seeing the bulge in his groin.

Regina moved her head from side to side.

"If you don't leave in the next 10 seconds I will arrest you for trespassing and harassment." Emma continued to address the man. "And attempted rape." she looked darkly at him.

"It was all a misunderstanding." Robin started to say while smiling. "You know how these things can go sheriff."

"I don't know, Robin, and if my clock is right, you have 6 more seconds." Emma said bitterly while still hugging Regina to her body, who was shaking without control. "And the fact that Regina needs me right now is what is probably saving you from having me punch you in the face, you poor excuse of a man."

When they heard the sound of the door closing she felt Regina's tears on her neck and immediately grabbed her bridal style.

"What are you doing?" Regina yelped after being grabbed by Emma in such a way.

"Taking you to your bed." Emma said.

"But I am not sleepy." she complained lightly.

"I know. But you are going to lie down, I'm gonna come with breakfast and you are going to act all surprised and shocked." Emma smiled. "And after we have our stomachs full we will talk about what happened, if that is what you want." the blonde added.

"And why will I do that?" she ignored the latter remark while being tossed unceremoniously on the mattress.

"Because nothing is better than having my home cooked breakfast." Emma played along.

Regina smiled sadly. "Emma, what you saw down there is not what you think it was." she whispered. "I did not invite him in. I do not know how he got inside the house, I swear."

"I believe you." Emma said softly. "You said no and he refused to listen to you."

"I'm sorry you had to listen to that." Regina said embarrassed and ashamed. She hated to feel this weak in front of others.

"Regina." Emma said while approaching her and tilting her chin so they would be looking at each other. "What I saw right now didn't make me think in any way differently than what I have been thinking for a while."

"And what have you been thinking?" she asked softly.

"That Robin Hood is gigantic asshole." Emma said angrily.

Instead of being offended, Regina found herself laughing loudly at Emma's remark. "A what now?"

"I know you want me to say it again because you found it funny." Emma said while smiling.

Regina's expression became angry. "And I thought he was my True Love."

"Was he really?" Emma asked quietly and suddenly afraid.

Regina flinched at Emma's question, noticing how worried Emma was about her answer. _Could she really care? _Regina asked herself.

"I thought he was." Regina answered honestly. "But the man that spoke to me today, that man is not the same one I met before defeating Zelena."

"So then you could still be in love with him?" Emma said sadly while lowering her gaze and staring at her shoes.

"No Emma. I can't see my future life being with him. He has to take care of his family now. And I have to be with mine."

"Henry." Emma said softly.

"Yes, Henry, you and the two idiots." Regina replied softly.

"You consider us your family?" Emma asked.

"You are the mother of my son, and your parents are his grandparents, so no matter what I feel, you will always be family." she then flinched her face. "But if you tell Snow White that I admitted to being related to her, I will kill you while you sleep."

Emma laughed and hugged Regina, who returned the hug and closed her eyes as soon as she felt Emma's shoulder. Again, there was this strange flicker of the lights and a change in the air that was surrounding the two of them. _Our combined magic reacting towards each other, _Regina mused to herself. It wasn't something strange because Regina was Emma's magical teacher, and while Emma was powerful, she lacked control, a control that Regina helped her achieve by combining their magic. So, it wasn't completely strange that their bodies would react that way towards each other.

"Is it ok to assume that your relationship with him is over?" Emma asked hopefully without stopping her embrace.

Regina felt Emma's sudden stiffness, and knowing that it was a natural way in which the blonde defended her feelings, she smiled happily. "It is over."

Emma finally let Regina go and looked at her with a gigantic smile on her face. "Good, because you deserve someone better." she said while leaving Regina's room and heading downstairs. "And Regina..." she came back, still with that big smile on her face. "I know that the Evil Queen feels bad about the things she did and that she pays everyday for her sins. I also know that Regina, the woman I have gotten to know, is a wonderful human being."

Regina felt the tears fall from her eyes, and after getting up, she went to the door and looked at Emma deeply. She could see the love and care in her eyes, and without thinking about it she gave her a small peck near the corner of her lips. She smiled when she saw Emma's eyes close and her smile become bigger, if that was even possible.

"I guess I will go and start that breakfast." Emma said confused after that kiss with Regina. She felt like she was in the clouds.

Regina smiled at Emma's clumsiness, and after pushing her out of the room, she touched her lips with her fingers. "I just kissed Emma and I liked it. A lot." she said softly and laughed. _Why am I even laughing like a clumsy teenager, _she scolded herself again.

What she didn't know was that downstairs Emma was having the same monologue.

"Regina just kissed me." Emma smiled brightly while looking at her reflection. "And it felt so fucking nice" _I just hope I didn't look like a blind person seeing the sun for the first time._

* * *

Meanwhile, Henry was getting ready for school at his grandparents place. After going inside Emma's room and seeing that it was empty, he almost spoiled the surprise and told his grandparents that her Mom and Ma were on good terms again. When his grandfather finished his breakfast the two of them stood up and went to get their things.

"I know you are just taking advantage of your grandfather young man." Snow scolded him while laughing.

Henry raised his arms in clear surrender and smiled. "He was the one that suggested the bet. I just accepted it."

"And is it safe to assume that you had no way of knowing of yesterday's night events?"

Henry smiled even more brightly. "Me? No way. I'm as clueless as you two."

"That sass can only come from Regina." she said while laughing. "You know, it's not fair to compete when you know you will win."

"Well, I am the son of the Evil Queen." Henry said while winking at Snow. "I will win if it is the last thing I do."

"The last thing I would do is say that in front of your mom." Charming added while kissing Snow sweetly and grabbing the keys of his truck.

"If you or Snow said it then you would be in danger. But I can technically get away with anything." he chirped happily.

Charming laughed loudly. "You truly are a Charming."

"He really is." Snow added while closing the door.

"Well, are you ready to invite this old man to dinner at Granny's?"

Henry laughed and seated himself on the front seat. "I think you will be inviting me."

Charming scoffed and started the car, quickly turning around the corner so they would pass the mayoral house. When, indeed they saw no sign of Emma at the front porch, Henry smiled brightly and pointed at his waiting hand.

"You are costing me too much money Emma." Charming complained while giving Henry the twenty bucks.

Henry smiled to himself. _You are making me get so much money Ma, _he told himself. He quickly started to wonder what he would do with the new cash acquired. Maybe he could buy himself some nice comics or save it so he could ask Grace out on a date, that of course occurring when he got the nerve to talk to her.

Before they could continue to argue they saw the door of the mayoral house open and a very angry Robin Hood come out from it. From what Henry saw, the man looked on the verge of physical collapse. Nevertheless, what they heard him scream was more unnerving.

"If it weren't for that fucking excuse of a sheriff I would have convinced Regina to take me back." he continued scolding loudly. "I did not think that getting inside Regina's pants would be such a hazard, especially because of that woman's loneliness. Wouldn't hurt her to have a good fuck."

Henry immediately saw red, and without noticing he started to unbuckle his seat belt.

"No Henry." Charming said while grabbing his hand and stopping him.

"He just insulted the two people I love the most." he said angrily.

"He is just upset." Charming tried to reason.

"He looks angry, not upset."

"People react to grief in different ways." Charming continued in his attempts to dissuade Henry.

Henry scoffed. "You are just defending him because you see him as a good guy."

"Well, he is a good guy..."

"Who is trying to be with my mom although his wife came back." Henry finished for him sarcastically. "And who just insulted your daughter for defending her friend."

"I know exactly how he feels and how complicated it is to leave your true love in order to do the honorable thing."

"Really? Because the truly honorable thing to do would be for him to decide what he wants and to not keep two women in the dark. That, and also the fact that he has a son to think about. And even during your time as David, I bet you never saw Mary Margaret as just a woman to spend the night with."

Charming flinched at Henry's remark because it was true. When they were cursed, Katherine and him never had a child in between. It would have made his decision much simpler. He would have done what was best for his child and he would have stayed with Katherine no matter the feelings he had for Snow. Nevertheless, when he looked at Robin Hood he saw a man sneaking around and attempting to take something that did not belong to him. This was a man who lived two lives: One with his wife and son (he had seen them walking around and smiling in town) and the angry man who was now trying to get Regina back.

"You are completely right Henry." Charming finally said while taking his hand away so Henry could get out.

While he saw Henry opening the door and making his way straight for Robin, he saw that the door of the house also opened and that now it was Emma the one making his way towards Robin.

Emma had been busy preparing breakfast, whistling softly and replaying the conversation and kiss that the two women had shared. It made her blush to realize that she wouldn't have minded to have Regina kiss her. In fact, she would have loved it. Those lips that were now haunting her thoughts, making her desire more things from the brunette that she had previously wanted. It shocked her, in some way, to realize that she felt attracted to Regina. But then again, who wouldn't be? The woman was completely gorgeous. Still, what scared Emma a little was that it was not only lust what she was feeling, but it was something deeper, stronger. She knew Regina well, she knew her past, what she had done and yet she could never stop caring or wanting to protect the woman. For Emma, the past mistakes of the woman were just that, the past. This is what made her realize that she had been jealous of Robin Hood. And now angry at him for being such a selfish coward. Robin, whom Emma could hear spilling angry insults from outside the door. She quickly turned off the stove and opened the door, decidedly making her way towards the angry man, although her determination at hitting the man faltered when Emma saw Henry doing the same thing as her. But, surprisingly for her, she got told to continue by a very angry-looking Henry.

"I told you that you had to leave." Emma said angrily to Robin, who looked up surprised to see not only Emma, but Henry with him.

He ignored her and smiled at Henry. "Hey man, how are you?"

"I was well until I saw you." he spat angrily. "And my Ma asked you a question, which you rudely chose to ignore."

"I just came to see your mother for a while. You know, talk to her because I miss her." he still kept his smile, although when his gaze went to Emma he threw daggers at her.

"Well, if my assumptions are correct, my mom doesn't want to see you. I suggest you leave the house or deputy Nolan, who is a few miles away, will take you to the station." Henry said with ill-angriness.

Emma looked surprised at Henry, who was always nice and polite, be the spitting image of Regina. Apparently Robin noticed it too because his smile disappeared from his face.

"I'm only trying to make things right." he said cautiously. "And we were making progress until _Sheriff Swan _decided to show up." he spat the last part.

Henry flinched by this remark, and without his consent, he saw his own punch closing and landing on the man's face. "What my Mom and Ma do is their own business, and if you don't leave right now I will do much worse than that."

Emma was stuck to the ground in complete shock. Her little kid, who was now not little anymore, just gave a punch to Robin Freaking Hood. Hell, it was amazing and she felt so proud of him for defending the two of them so passionately. What she didn't expect, but still noticed, was a furious Robin Hood trying to return the blow. So, without thinking, she pushed Henry out of the way and the punch intended for him landed on her face. Robin immediately smiled after realizing whom he had hit.

"That was for messing with Regina and me." he spat.

"You messed your relationship yourself, asshole." Emma grinned while immediately noticing that she was bleeding. "And you just assaulted an officer, which it turns out is a crime." she nodded at Charming who, after seeing how Robin punched Emma, immediately left the car and went straight at them. "Please take him to the station and don't worry about Henry."

Charming nodded. "I'm sorry Emma. Henry warned me about him but I didn't believe him."

"That's ok. This jackass pretends to be a good guy while deep inside he is rotten as fuck." she spat at him.

"Don't think I will stop." he threatened. "You took something from me today sheriff. Something that I will collect soon."

"Regina's affection is not something to be gambled or played with, asshole." she screamed while getting really close to him. "What I would give to just end your miserable life right now." she felt the blood boiling her veins and activating her magic. "But why do that when I can make you suffer more?" she smiled darkly at him. "I will not make the same mistake you did." she whispered softly near his ear. "I will make Regina feel as the only woman in the world because she is the only one in mine. And you, you will see from afar what you gave up: The love of a wonderful woman."

"You will not get away with this!" Robin screamed while trying to hit the woman with his head. "I will not let you!" he continued moving around, unable to do more because of Charming's strong grip.

"I think I already did." she nodded at Charming. "Now, take him out of my sight and set his bail so that no one can pay it." she dismissed him and grabbed Henry's hand. "And you, although I feel extremely proud, will be the death of me since your Mom is going to kill me, then you, then me again."

Henry smiled and gave her a warm hug. "She won't if you pretend to be more hurt than what you truly are."

Emma smiled, but then flinched because of the pain that was starting to become obvious. "I don't think I have to pretend so much. He got me straight in the nose."

"Well, suit yourself." he finished softly while ringing the bell, his serious expression almost failing when she saw Regina look from pleasantly surprised to completely worried.

"Oh my God what happened to you two?"


	3. Two Handed Hook

_It's taking Emma too long to come back, _Regina thought while moving away from her comfortable bed. _Maybe she burned my kitchen down, _she started to hyperventilate by the mere action of imagining that scenario. With that in mind she quickly went to the bathroom to wash her face and put on some clothes: She was not going to yell at Emma without being properly dressed. _Well, she is a Charming none the less, so no surprise there if she managed to destroy my kitchen after defending me so gallantly._

After getting done with her makeup and wardrobe she went down the stairs. Before getting the chance to go inside the kitchen and check what the blonde had done she heard the door bell ring. Praying that Emma could manage to not destroy things further, she made her way to the front door and opened it with an expressionless face, her evil queen face. Right in front of her were Emma, with what seemed a bloody nose, and her son with his fist tight in his chest. It was clear that he was unable to open his hand because as soon as he tried to say hi with that hand he flinched in pain.

"Oh my God what happened to you two?!" she screamed while opening the door and pushing them inside.

She grabbed Emma's face and looked at her nose, which was still bleeding without control. Emma flinched when she felt Regina's fingers probing it lightly.

"Robin Hood happened." Henry mused angrily while moving towards the kitchen.

Regina looked surprised at Emma, who grimaced softly and followed him there.

"What do you mean Henry?"

"I mean that I was going to school with grandpa..."

"And why did you come this way then?" Emma asked suddenly.

"Well, we had a bet about you spending the night on the porch." he said while smiling softly. "Which I totally knew was not going to happen." he added while winking at his mom.

"Wait, you knew your Mom was going to forgive me?" Emma asked a suddenly amused Regina.

Regina smiled softly. "He might have been responsible for bringing some sense into me."

Emma nodded and tried to kiss Henry, that is before she remembered her nose and howled in pain. "Shit, this is hurting even more now."

"Miss Swan, language." Regina scolded her lightly while going to her cabinet and grabbing some towels and alcohol.

"Anyway..." Henry continued while watching how his Mom was cleaning his Ma's nose. "We were on our way and outside the house was Robin Hood looking really angry."

"A-hole." Emma mused from her position in front of Regina. She saw how Regina smiled softly but still pinched her nose a little harder.

"And when I heard him screaming insults about the two of you I lost control and got out of the car." Henry continued while raising his hand and trying to open it to no avail. "But before I even got close to him Emma came out and talked to him first."

"I was in the kitchen and I heard some screaming outside in the porch. So I went and saw him there while Henry was making his way towards him." Emma said while smiling at her son softly. "And right after I got next to him he started to discuss your ehem, relationship with each other."

"Discuss?" Regina scolded angrily.

"He was trying to win me by being friendly." Henry cleared for her Ma who was too nice to even say something bad about him. "And after he insulted my Ma."

"He insulted Emma!" Regina screamed, which made Henry and Emma jump in surprise.

Henry could see how his Mom was fuming with anger, and was that purple in her eyes? _Well shit, _Henry thought, _I wonder what will happen when we tell her about him punching her. _

"And when he insulted her I punched him in the face." Henry said straight.

Emma smiled when she saw that Regina stopped tending her injury as soon as she heard that Henry was also in pain. When she saw her standing up and making her way for the kitchen, she winked at Henry.

"That was a nice punch." she whispered softly but with pride. "Just like I taught you."

Henry beamed with happiness. "Well, he deserved to be punched straight-up in the face."

Before Emma could answer him back Regina came with a bag of frozen beans and gave it to Henry who smiled in appreciation.

"So I understand how Henry got his hand injured and his presence here, but that doesn't explain why _you _have a bloody nose." Regina said to Emma.

"That..." she said with care. "I got in the way of a punch that Robin Hood threw, and silly me I didn't avoid it."

"It wasn't like that!" Henry said angrily. "He got you because you took me out of the way!"

When Henry said this he could have sworn that they all felt the air in the room disappear and it being replaced with fire. Without raising his eyes, he felt his Mom's hard labored breaths coming in unsteady paces. He knew what this meant: This was his Mom's last attempt at keeping her magic in control, and although he was a little scared, he was certainly not going to scold her for using it against Robin Hood because he deserved it.

"So what he was trying to do was hit Henry and you took him out of the way." Regina finally said after a couple of minutes.

Emma, instead of answering, went to where Regina was standing and took her hand, immediately connecting their magic. _So this is what Regina must feel when she grabs my hand and tries to keep my magic under control, _she thought while trying to remain and give her control to Regina. While Emma's anger was because of love and feeling hurt, Regina's anger came from being afraid and hate, which were feelings that she was now sharing with Emma. Nevertheless, the good thing about having white magic was that it was easy to share, and as soon as Emma focused on the feelings that she had when Regina kissed her, she felt the brunette's negative emotions dissipate.

Regina immediately felt Emma's feelings reach her heart, and while her anger was still there, what it did do was keep her desire for revenge dormant. _So this is what Emma must feel like when I help her with her magic, _she mused to herself while smiling softly: Dear sweet Emma who was now looking at her with clear devotion and a bloody nose. All her doubts about kissing Emma dissipated and now she only felt adoration and love for the blonde woman with green eyes. These feelings were so strong, and she was in awe at how fully she felt them. When she was with Robin she never felt like this, never felt this deeply, and although she knew that she was acting like a damn damsel in distress (and hell if she became one), she still couldn't stop swooning and smiling when she thought about Emma defending Henry and her. _Of course Emma knows what are my priorities and what I value most because what I value most is what she values most too. _

"You are learning." Regina complimented Emma when her hate was replaced by love. "I am proud of you."

"You are?" Emma asked in complete shock.

"I am." Regina reaffirmed her while squeezing the hand that Emma had given her earlier. "And thank you for defending our son."

"Hey, I am here, I can hear you, and I am quite capable of defending myself." he said amused.

"Nevertheless, that gave your mom a bloody nose, so you should thank her too." she scolded him softly. "But I'm also happy that you punched him on my behalf."

Henry and Emma looked at her in complete shock.

"Are you really that surprised? Don't forget, I _was _the Evil Queen." she finished in full Evil Queen mode.

"Point taken." Emma said while approaching Regina. "Now that you are feeling better, do you think you could...?" she said with a pout on her face while pointing at her nose.

Regina laughed and nodded, immediately passing her hand through Henry's hand and healing it completely. While he thanked her and went to his room to get his extra bag for school, Regina approached Emma and did the same thing that she had done before. But, instead of using her hand to canalize her magic, she lowered her head so it could be straight in front of Emma's and kissed her nose lightly. As soon as she did she could feel the magic coming from her lips and healing Emma's nose. When she was done she opened her eyes and saw a shocked, but clearly happy shocked, Emma looking at her with glassy eyes.

"Now it's all better." she confirmed while kissing her nose again, a little bit harder and longer. "Does it feel better?"

"It feels wonderful." Emma whispered softly while lowering her eyes to Regina's lips.

Regina smiled brightly at Emma's response and followed her gaze when she saw it lowering towards her lips. She gulped lightly, feeling the sudden seriousness of the situation. She wanted so much to kiss Emma, and from what she was seeing in Emma, the blonde reciprocated her desires. Still, before either did something they heard noises coming from the stairs, which meant that Henry was making his way to the living room. With a final Eskimo kiss to Emma, Regina separated herself and smiled when Henry came into the room, clearly unaware of what had transpired between the two of them.

"Soooo, I'm ready." he said, clearly trying to take Emma out of her haze.

Emma closed her eyes and took a long breath. "Yeah, coming kid." she smiled at him and then looked at Regina with a gigantic smile on her face. "Are we still having breakfast together?"

Regina smiled. "I can meet you at Granny's in 15 minutes."

"Deal." Emma said while poking her lightly and making her way towards the door, followed closely by Henry who smiled at Regina and kissed her on the cheek.

"I will see you for lunch, right?" he asked her with hope.

"Of course, we are having lasagna." Regina affirmed him. "And you can certainly come too, Sheriff Swan."

Emma high fived Henry. "Nice, your mom makes the best lasagna ever!" she beamed.

"I will make sure to mention that to Snow." Regina said with an evil smile on her face.

"You wouldn't dare." Emma said suddenly afraid. One thing she was scared of was the competition between Snow and Regina. It certainly felt like Chopped sometimes when those two started to compare dishes and tips.

"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind to point Snow towards the right direction."

"And what direction is that?" Henry asked while opening the door and pushing Emma outside.

"The direction in which she realizes that I am a better cook than her, of course." Regina answered him while kissing him one last time on the cheek. "Lunch will be at 2."

The two nodded while making their way towards Emma's yellow bug, and smiling softly at the scene Regina closed the door and took a deep breath. Certainly, her feelings of friendship towards Emma were changing abruptly. The real questions truly were: Did she mind them changing and would they be returned?

* * *

Emma felt like she was on Cloud 9 since Regina kissed her a few hours ago. Then, she went beyond Cloud 9 when she kissed and healed her nose with magic. Truly, it seemed that Regina was driving her crazy and she loved to feel that way. She wasn't stupid and she knew that in some way Regina felt the same way towards her, e_specially if she was the one that initiated all of the kisses. _Emma smiled brightly at that thought and closed the door of the bug. She didn't hear Henry come inside, and it took her some minutes to realize that she was in front of his school and saying goodbye.

"...and I know that you weren't paying attention to me, but I still hope you have a good day." he smiled brightly.

Emma shrugged and apologized. "I'm sorry Henry, I just have some things on my mind."

"I think we both know that it is only one thing." he said knowingly.

Emma hit him softly with her hand and he pretended to recoil because of the hit. "Don't be such a smartass and go to class."

Henry winked at her and left for the school "And you don't forget to go to Granny's. I think you have four minutes before Mom gets there." he screamed and Emma lowered herself in embarrassment.

She acknowledged his warning, and in what seemed was her second fastest driving ever, she made her way to Granny's and saw that thankfully she beat Regina. She smiled at Granny and sat herself in her usual booth. In a matter of seconds Ruby was standing next to her.

"Hey Emma, what can I get ya?"

Emma smiled at the young girl. "Hey Ruby. Can I get one cup of coffee and my usual."

"For who is the coffee?" she asked with a knowing smile.

"For it's not your business." she said while smiling.

"Is it for a pirate with a hook instead of a hand?"

Emma flinched immediately. "No, it's not."

Ruby looked surprised at Emma but still nodded in acknowledgment. Before she even got the chance to place the order she heard the door of the diner open and saw Regina making her way towards Emma's table. Regina smiled at Granny and said hi to Ruby before sitting down in front of Emma.

"I ordered you coffee, but I didn't want to order you something that you wouldn't like." Emma started to ramble.

Ruby looked surprised at the scene. She had been friends with Emma for a long time and she knew that Emma rambled when she was nervous.

"For future reference, I will never be able to turn down some waffles." Regina smiled lightly but truthfully at Emma and looked at Ruby. "With whipped cream and chocolate syrup please."

Ruby nodded and left the two women alone, that is, not before she saw how Emma relaxed and went to grab Regina's hand, who instead of taking it away just left it under Emma's.

"Well, would you look at that?" she told herself while smiling knowingly. "It seems that romance is blooming in Storybrooke."

"You said romance is blooming in Storybrooke?" she heard a deep voice with a faint accent say from behind her. She looked at Hook making his way inside the diner and although she felt a little sorry for him, she laughed brightly at what was going to happen when he saw Emma with the Mayor.

"What can I do for you Hook?" she asked him politely. She didn't like the man so much, specially because he was a ruthless pirate in the Enchanted Forest before getting with Emma.

"I'm looking for Emma and they told me that she came here." he smiled seductively. Ruby saw the attempt and scoffed. _Regina is so much better for Emma than this douchebag, and what does Emma have for liking hot-former evil people?_

"She is in her usual booth." she told him nonchantely while making her way towards the kitchen to place Emma and Regina's order.

Hook smiled brightly and made his way to the table. He was thinking of cute one-liners that could make him look better in front of Emma, because damn that stubborn woman, she still refused to give him a chance. When she kissed him after confessing that he had sold his boat for her, he expected to see some positive changes, but then Regina had to get her heart broken and make Emma feel all guilty to be in a relationship. He was not a patient man, and although he knew that Emma would be worth it, he was getting tired of waiting for the blonde to finally let him spend the night. Besides, what was the whole point of charming someone if no serious loving went on with it? He considered himself a gentleman, but he was also a man with needs. Needs that he wanted Emma to fill. But, when he finally made his way to her table he saw in complete shock that his woman was sitting with Regina, the two of them grabbing hands while smiling Emma smiled at something Regina had said.

"Emma." he said in shock. "Thought you were too busy to have breakfast." he added accusedly while looking at Regina, who just ignored him.

"Well, I said that because I am." she answered without removing her hand from above Regina's. "I am talking with Regina as you can see."

"I can clearly see that love." he added smoothly, feigning indifference. "But I thought you would prefer to spend your time with me since we haven't seen each other so much."

Emma recoiled a little and managed to gulp the bile that was rising to her throat. _Weird, I never reacted that badly to Hook before, _she questioned quietly while glancing at Regina, who had stayed quiet during the whole time.

"You know, I can take my food and leave." Regina said softly.

"No, you don't have to leave."

"Yes, it would be appreciated." Hook and Emma said at the same time.

Emma looked angrily at Hook who just raised his hands in mock surrender. Emma stopped looking at him and focused on Regina.

"I really want to have breakfast with you." she whispered sadly.

Regina smiled and squeezed her hand. "And I with you." she assured her. "But Captain Eye-liner won't give up until he talks with you." she added sadly.

"I will see you for lunch then." Emma surrendered and saw Regina make her way to Ruby and whisper some words.

Ruby nodded and packed her food in a container and took the cash that was offered by Regina.

"Well love, will you talk with me or keep making dovey eyes with the Evil Queen?" he said sarcastically.

"That's not who she is anymore and you know it." she said angrily. "And since you ruined my breakfast I guess I will have to listen to what you have to say." he motioned for him to start talking.

"You can explain to me why you were grabbing hands and making dovey eyes with her to begin with."

"No I don't because that is my business, and last time I checked you and I are just friends."

"Because you want us to be that way!" he said angrily. "You know my feelings for you and what I want for us. I thought you reciprocated them." he whispered while trying to grab her hand, which she immediately set under the table.

"I know what I feel, and towards you I just feel the care that two friends have for each other." Emma said seriously.

"Bullshit Swan. You just want to live in comfort and keep things simple." he spat angrily at her. "You think you don't deserve to be happy because you brought Robin's wife back."

Emma flinched at the remainder but kept her eyes on Hook. "I thought it was because of that too, but the reality is that I do what to be happy, but I know that the happiness that you are looking for is not with me."

"But I love you Emma!"

"And I don't!" Emma screamed, immediately getting the attention of all the customers of the store. "I don't love you Killian, and I think that you don't love me either."

"But I just told you that I do. Hell, I even gave my boat for you. To find you." he begged her to understand.

Emma looked sadly at him. "And that is why you don't love me. You love an idea of me, the idea of the savior that can save you with her love. But Killian, trust me, I'm messed up and not the person you need."

"But clearly the person Regina needs." he whispered angrily.

"What?" she spat back.

"You heard me Swan. You reject me because you deem yourself unworthy but still act all lovingly with the Evil Queen."

"Call her that one more time and you will have two hooks instead of one." she spat at him.

"So you don't deny it then, that you have feelings for her." he spat angrily.

"I don't." Emma said resolutely. "And I'm sorry if I hurt you unwillingly, but I cannot ignore them anymore."

Hook deflated at Emma's fervor for Regina. It made him see red and hate the woman even more than before.

Emma sensed Hook's aura and before he left she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, even with more strength thanks to a force spell. "If you even think about doing something to Regina or the people she cares about, I will find you and kill you."

"You cannot, because you are the savior." Hook tempted her.

"Oh trust me, if you mess with Regina, the person who will come to find you will not be the savior." she said back angrily. "And this person you do not want to me." she threatened while standing up and making her way to the cashier.

Ruby saw the exchange between Hook and Emma from afar, and when she saw a pissed Emma come straight at her she took the container and put the food there. Emma smiled at the gesture and took her wallet out.

"Don't worry." Ruby told her while smiling. "It's already covered." she smiled knowingly and went to keep the other customers entertained.

Emma smiled at the gesture and opened the door of the dinner, that is, not before she gave one last look at Hook and saw him staring back angrily at her. _Well, this could become a problem, _she huffed while closing the door and making her way to the yellow bug. _Only Regina and I manage to get the jealous fucked-up guys in Storybrooke. _


	4. Heart on the Porch

Regina was finishing with the last details of the lasagna when she heard Henry opening the front door and coming inside with a very loud Emma. It seemed that the two of them were discussing comics.

"I tell you kid, DC universe is way better." Emma said while coming to the kitchen and smiling brightly at Regina. "They have the baddest super women ever."

Henry came after her and gave Regina a kiss on the cheek. "And I keep telling you that The Avengers and X-Men beat the Justice League by a clear mile. And also that Marvel has Spiderman, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Captain America and the Fantastic Four." he discussed passionately.

Emma scoffed. "DC has WonderWoman! Who, I will remind you, is the prebuscent fantasy of every teenage boy. And Superman and Batman! And the movies that DC does are way better than Marvel, although I will admit they are redeeming themselves with the Avengers and Captain America."

Regina made a gagging noise which stopped the discussion from continuing. "Although I find the topic you are talking about fascinating." she said sarcastically. "The lasagna has been ready for a while, and unlike you two, I'm starving."

The two of them quickly ran to the table and sat down. Emma grabbed the juice and poured them all some before loading her dish with two gigantic slices of lasagna.

"You know I envy you so much." Regina said to Emma while watching her eat. "You look like that." she pointed at Emma's body. "And eat like that." she motioned for the immense plate of lasagna.

Emma laughed. "Well, since I was a child I always had a very thin contexture. And when I started to do sports that also seemed to help me to maintain weight."

"Lucky you." Regina said while looking at her own, smaller plate. "And to think some of us have to take care of our food choices."

"Well, you can let loose because you look amazing." Emma said softly.

Henry looked at the two blushing women and groaned in fake annoyment. "Ma, you are so lame."

"And you will be grounded if you don't keep quiet." Emma scolded him while blushing harder.

Regina laughed at Emma's sweet clumsiness and gave her a wink. "You know, I also think that DC comics are better." she told the two of them.

Henry objected about allowing her Mom have a say in the topic because of her lack of knowledge about the comic world and Emma mussed that she had every right to have an opinion if she was able to differentiate between the two universes.

"But how can we validate your opinion if you don't sustain it with evidence?!" he said at Regina, who looked at him amused.

"Well, I can give them to you." she addressed the two of them. "You just assumed that I knew nothing of the topic."

Emma laughed. "Well then, why do you think DC is better than Marvel, Miss Sassypants?"

Regina pretended to be hurt by Emma's nickname but still gave her a soft smile. "Because of Batman, of course. He is the best superhero ever because he manages to be a superhero without any powers. He merely uses his own self-strength and very well developed gadgets. Another asset that he has is that he is wealthy and influential in Gotham City while at the same time not drawing unwanted attention to himself. From a strategic point of view, he is in the perfect position for ultimate control." she finished while looking at the shocked faces of Emma and Henry.

"Shit woman, you will kill me." Emma said softly while looking at Regina in wonder. _She also likes comics?!, _she almost screamed because of the excitement. _I think I just found my soulmate. _

"Well, you do have a point there." Henry said softly. "But that still doesn't make DC universe better. It just makes Batman a better superhero."

"And Batman belongs to what universe?" Emma refrained from laughing at Henry's logic.

"To DC."

"Which means that DC created him, hence DC would be better." Regina finished for Emma while winking at her in clear conspiracy.

Henry groaned and raised his hands in surrender. "This discussion is pointless because we refuse to be convinced."

Regina looked amusedly at him.

"Which was Mom's point from the beginning." he finished while lowering his head and eating the food. "And by the way, the lasagna is amazing."

Emma nodded in agreement. "I swear this is the best lasagna in the whole world." she said with food on her mouth.

"Miss Swan, please refrain from teaching my son how to talk with his mouth full. It took some time to eliminate that terrible habit." Regina said with sassiness.

"Yes, your sassiness." Emma said while taking her tongue out.

"You are a child Ma." Henry said amused.

"Well, when I really was one I couldn't act like one. I had to worry about things like food, earning enough to make it by or managing to survive in my foster places without being hurt." she answered him softly. "So now that I feel safe I can just act like the child I never got allowed to be."

Henry looked at her sadly and nodded in understanding. "But still, that doesn't excuse you from talking with your mouth full."

Regina smiled warmly and grabbed Emma's hand from under the table and squeezed it tightly in sign of support. Emma smiled at the gesture and refused to let go of it during the rest of their meal. They had a nice discussion about Henry's activities in school and the weird things that Emma saw during her shift at the station. So, when Henry deemed that his time with the adults was over and moved upstairs to read some comics, Regina made her way to the study with Emma following closely behind. The two women were nervous because of the events that had unraveled during the last couple of days. Alas, they were mostly nervous of how the other would react if they acted on their feelings: They really liked and trusted each other, which made them be even more hesitant of ruining what they had right now.

Regina tried to break the silence first. "Whisky or cider?"

"Whisky." Emma answered. _If I want to say what has been on my mind since I came back through that portal I need to have liquid courage._

Regina nodded and poured the two of them glasses, immediately sitting next to Emma on the couch and giving her the drink. "So..." she started with hesitation. "What happened after I left Granny's?"

Emma smiled softly and grabbed Regina's hand. "It's over."

Regina smiled brightly at her. "It is?"

"Yes." Emma answered softly while finishing her drink. "I couldn't be with him anymore."

"And why is that?" she asked, a little afraid of what that answer might be.

"I can't be with him because there is another person that is making me feel things."

"Things?" Regina asked half-amused, half-frustrated. _Damn that woman and her ability to ramble during important moments. _

"Feelings. Very strong and good feelings." Emma smiled in remembrance of Regina's kiss. "And now, every time I think about _her, her _being with someone else..." she closed her eyes and gulped loudly. "It just makes me sick because I only want to be with her and her to be with me."

"Well, this woman is very lucky to have gained your affection." Regina smiled warmly.

"I think I'm the lucky one because this woman is so beautiful and complex that any person would just die to be with her."

"Well, take it from someone that knows what they are talking about, that woman only wants to be with you." she said softly while finishing her own drink.

"Really?" Emma asked hopefully, which made Regina smile and start to approach her.

"Really." she whispered while closing the space between them and kissing Emma straight on the lips.

When Emma felt Regina's lips on her own she saw a white light shine on the two of them. The air became warm and the smell of forest and apples impregnated the room. Emma moaned when Regina's kiss became a little bolder and she felt the woman biting her lower lip softly. Without wanting to waste any more time she grabbed Regina's hips and pushed her towards her in a clear attempt to get them closer together.

She was bewitched by Emma, Regina realized as soon as her lips landed on the ones of the blonde woman, because the moment she felt them touch she saw white and felt the air become stronger. She knew what this meant, and as soon as her heart stopped beating so loudly and Emma's lips stopped tasting and feeling so good, she would think about the ramifications of this event. But, right now she was just going to kiss Emma and enjoy it.

The two women were so desperate to keep the contact between them that they neared the point of blackness when they separated from each other. The only sounds that could be heard were their labored breathing and after recovering their breath they raised their gaze and looked at each other. When their eyes met they saw contempt, happiness, and possibly love in them. It was now too late for both, and the feelings that had started with some truths and magic lessons blossomed to become what they now knew was True Love. It was true because Emma knew that she would never feel this connected and this in love with someone else for the rest of her life. The Evil Queen had managed to steal her heart in the end and she felt happy that it belonged to Regina. Regina, on the other hand, realized the irony that the final battle between good and evil was not the physical one that Henry had expected when he brought Emma to Storybrooke, but the slow development of a friendship and now relationship with the Savior. _She beat me and for the first time I'm happy to say that I lost, _she mused to herself. _I'm happy to say that I lost because I was weaker, but by being weaker I also fell in love and it feels wonderful._

"Regina." Emma whispered reverently.

"Emma." Regina whispered back in full adoration.

Both looked at each other and smiled before crashing their lips again in total bliss.

"I have been wanting to do this..." Emma said between kisses.

"Since you cut down my apple tree with that chainsaw." Regina finished while peppering Emma's face with sloppy kisses.

Emma laughed at the sweet gesture and nuzzled her face with Regina's. "I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe you want to be with me"

"And why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because I am me and you are you." Emma said as if that explained it all.

"Precisely Emma. I want to be with you because of who you are. Because I know you, inside and out. I know I am not an easy person, and that many will never forgive my past sins, but I promise you that what I feel right now, for you, is real and true."

Emma felt tears come to her eyes and she launched herself at Regina and gave her a strong hug. "Oh Regina! I am not doubting you at all. I am doubting myself and what I could have done to make you like me."

"You forgave me. You gave me a second chance. You gave me Henry. And you gave me your friendship." Regina said softly. "All you have done is give. Now I want to give you something back."

"I don't want anything Gina as long as I have your affection."

"Oh my sweet Emma you already have that and more!" Regina said in complete adoration. "But I want to make you a promise." she said solemnly while grabbing Emma's hand and pulling it towards her heart. "I promise you that I will never intentionally hurt you and that I will always be there for you, either as a friend or more than that."

Emma cried and felt the love that started to develop for Regina grow even further. It seemed that Regina truly knew her because the things that she promised were the things that she craved the most: loyalty and companionship no matter the circumstances. For Emma, those things were key because of her upbringing as an orphan and of how people entered and left her life in a rush. She knew that her time in the foster system made her become strong and guarded, and for someone to break those defenses meant that in return they got all of Emma. For Emma that only happened with Neal (who ended up disappointing her), Henry (who was the love of her life no matter what) and now Regina. No one more, no one less.

"And I promise to believe in your goodness no matter what. I know you Regina, and you feel things deeply. You feel so much and are so strong that Zelena stole your heart because it is the most resilient one I have ever seen. To be on the other end of your affections is so wonderful, and every time you do something it lights up and brightness up my day."

Now Regina was the one crying, because just like she knew what to say to Emma, it seemed that Emma also knew what to say to her. Emma had just gave her trust and love. For Regina, whose life was dominated by power and people that only seemed to like her because of her power, to be truly loved was something unique and that she had only felt when she was 17. It had taken her almost 50 years, but now she found a person that only knew her as Regina and still cared for her deeply (and seemed to even love her). She knew how hard it was for Emma to trust others, so the fact that she trusted her meant that Emma had faith in her. _The Savior had done the possible_, Regina smiled while looking at Emma again and kissing her chastely on the lips, _she had saved the Evil Queen from herself_.

When Henry came back downstairs after finishing his comic he went to the living room to see if his moms were there. When he noticed that the room was empty he started to look around the house quietly. _I wonder where they are? _he mused to himself before going to the study and opening the door quietly. What he saw there was his Mom hugging his Ma, which would have not been suspicious enough if the expression on his Ma's face were any other than adoration. He was really close to barging in, but when he saw the two of them look at each other deeply and then kiss he just froze on the spot. Was he in shock? Completely. Was it a bad shock? No it wasn't. In fact, he mocked Emma so much because he knew that she had developed a crush on her mom. What he didn't know was that the feelings were deeper and that his Mom reciprocated them, based on what he was seeing right now. Was he a little scared? Yes he was. These new feelings that his moms were having for each other were great, but at the same time he was worried about what would happen if things didn't work out. He knew that they would do nothing that would hurt him or stop him from seeing them (they had come too far for that to happen again). But, at the same time, he saw them develop a great friendship and camaraderie, one that would be painful to see it end. _But what if it becomes better? _he also wondered. _I would be able to be with my two moms and have what he had today all the time. _

This made him reach a decision, and unlike his old self that got involved and tried to take matters into his own hands, he decided to just let things roll. He felt that if he encouraged his moms into trying to realize what they felt for each other on their own time the results would be better. This made him remember that his moms had just gotten out of a relationship, which meant that they could not take too long to reach a decision (because knowing his mothers they would over-think everything). But, what he could, and was really going to do was kill (figuratively of course) anyone that tried to mess with his moms and mess what they had (this was a warning for Robin and Hook mostly). He smiled at the idea of them being a family someday, especially after seeing the way that his Mom was looking at his Ma. He knew that look very well: That was the look that his Mom had with him, the one of clear adoration and devotion. And his Ma, well, his Ma had been acting like a lovefool since they got back from Neverland. Smiling again he closed the door and decided to go to the arcade to meet with some friends, you know so he could give them some needed space to do things that he did not want to imagine them doing: Just because he agreed with them being together that didn't mean that he wanted to actually see them be all dovey goey with each other. Writing a short note in which he explained his whereabouts, he made his way to the front door, opening it without care. The moment he did, he almost fell to the floor when he noticed that there was a package on the stairs of the porch. Carefully, and without touching the package, he looked for a nametag or any kind of documentation that could confirm who sent it. When he saw none, and knowing better than to open or touch the box(his Mom had warned him about enchanted boxes) he decided to go back inside and ruin the teenage makeout session that his moms were probably having.

"Moms!" he screamed while keeping the door open, hoping to see if anyone approached or was waiting for them to open the box.

He knew that his mothers were coming the moment he heard a loud noise coming from the studio, almost as if someone had fallen, and then the sound of running footsteps and heels making their way towards the front door.

"Henry!" Regina screamed from the kitchen while looking around.

"Front door!" Emma screamed back to warn Regina.

Regina dashed for the door and clearly relaxed when she saw Henry, without any sort of injury, standing behind a box on the floor.

"Why did you scream kid?" Emma complained while breathing loudly. "You scared the hell out of us."

"Sorry." Henry said apologetically. "But when I was leaving for the arcade I opened the door and saw this box on our porch."

"You did not touch it, right?" Regina said while looking at Henry again.

He denied it and Regina smiled proudly at him.

"Good job on warning us and not touching it Henry." she complimented his son. "I can sense something on the box."

"Magic?" Emma asked.

"Not necessarily." she mused mostly to herself. "But there is something not right inside of it. Give me some space so I can open it with magic." she warned. "And Emma, put a protective spell around Henry and yourself just in case."

Emma nodded and immediately got into action, feeling her magic wrap Henry and herself under it. When Regina felt Emma's light magic covering the two most important people of her life she used her magic to open the box. When nothing came out of it or reacted to her revealing spell, she approached it slowly, careful at not setting any trap or counterspell into action. Still, when she finally saw what was inside she gulped a big scream and nodded for Emma to come.

Emma, who had been standing out of reach Henry, saw Regina's blank and worried expression, which in turn made her realize that something was not right. As soon as she got the ok from the brunette to approach, she stood next to her and lowered her gaze to see the contexts in the box. What she saw there immediately made her feel bile rising from her throat. Unable to control her gagging reflex, she ran straight to the bathroom to empty her stomach contents because what they had just seen was a human heart. This was definitely something that she didn't want anyone to see, especially Henry. Regina, thinking the same thing as Emma, pushed Henry out of the house and gave him some cash.

"Go to the arcade and have fun with your friends." she said seriously. "But please call us every half an hour with updates."

Henry nodded. "Is everything alright?"

"Nothing your mom and I can't handle kid." Emma finally answered while barely managing to smile at him.

He smiled in recognition and quickly left the house. When he was gone Emma deflated and went straight for Regina's arms. As soon as she felt Regina engulf her in a strong hug she felt like breathing again. She had never been a person that reacted badly to disgusting things, but even she had a limit when it came to gore. To see a heart, notice the lack of the word 'magical' before it, during the middle of the afternoon on Mifflin Street was something that not even the strongest stomach could handle.

"That is a heart." Emma said softly. "Notice that I didn't mention magical before it."

"I noticed." Regina whispered back. "And you are right. It is not a magical heart."

"So most probably the owner of that heart is dead already."

Regina nodded. "But did you also notice the cleanliness of the heart?"

"I wasn't the best student during my high school years." Emma said embarrassed.

"And you do not have to be in order to see what I am talking about." Regina smiled and pointed at the edges of the heart. "You see here, no ligatures or connecting lines."

Emma nodded in understanding. "So the heart was taken out magically?"

Regina nodded. "Yes."

"But then why didn't it become a magical heart? I thought that when using magic to take out a heart made it became a magical heart."

"That is what is supposed to happen." Regina said concerned. "Which brings us to our next problem."

"Our next problem? I didn't even know we had one." Emma said and noticed her girlfriend's, wait, girlfriend's eye-roll. "Apart from the fact that we have a heart on our front porch."

"Our front porch?" Regina was unable to stop herself from teasing the blonde.

"Well, I mean your front porch, because you know I don't live here, not yet at least. That is, if you would ever want me to live her, but I'm not pressuring you to hurry or anything like that." Emma rambled non-stop.

Regina laughed loudly and gave her girlfriend, yes, her girlfriend, a soft kiss on the lips. "After all we have shared, after realizing we are bound my True Love, you worry about such a triviality?" she smiled widely. "I cannot imagine you being somewhere else."

"Thank God." Emma breathed, completely relieved. "Because it would have been totally awkward and embarrassing if you had said no."

"I would never say no, my darling." Emma smiled at the endearment word. "But I believe we have more pressing matters at the moment, such as that heart." Regina pointed the box.

Emma shrugged. "Gives me the creeps to think that someone is powerful enough to perform a new kind of magic."

"New? No Emma, on the contrary, this type of magic is one of the oldest ones in the magic world." Regina said seriously. "To see this kind of heart worries me. It worries me." Regina kept on going before Emma could interrupt her with another question. "Because this magic is darker than the one that Rumple taught me."

"Magic darker than the one of the Dark One?" she asked in shock.

"Older magic, purer magic than the one we practice."

"I still don't understand."

"The magic that I have been teaching you comes from the ancient elves. It is a mixture of emotion and essence, and by essence I mean a person's capability to perform magic. Certain people have certain aptitudes that makes them able to perform magic on different levels."

"Like you and me?" Emma asked.

"No. You and I both are humans with unpolluted magic. We are capable, with easiness, to use our emotions to create magic. The result, light or dark magic, come from our choices during our lifetime and how we have used our magic. My mother, she couldn't create magic by herself, so what she did instead was use a spell book to absorb magic. Unlike us, who have magic in ourselves naturally, my mom absorbed magic from magical elements. Rumple, before becoming the Dark One, was a normal human being without magic, that is, until he used the dagger. And Henry." she added in amusement. "Henry has another type of magic and one of the oldest ones. He has the magic of the truest believer, which automatically enables his heart to perform magic on things. This means that he can't perform the magic, because he doesn't know how, but if someone, like Pan tried to do, stole his heart, then they would be able to use its magic.

"That makes complete sense." Emma nodded.

"But the kind of magic responsible for this." Regina pointed at the heart. "Is so old that it has been deemed extinct for millennia."

"So basically we have a person in Storybrooke that is older and far more dangerous than the Dark One?" Emma asked in fear.

"Yes Emma, that is exactly what I said." Regina whispered in clear fear.


	5. Could it Really Be?

When her mother agreed to hold the council meeting she expected to see the usual members: Her parents, Ruby, Granny, Leroy, the Blue Fairy and etc. Nevertheless, the moments she walks into the room she sees a very pissed off Robin Hood look at her with complete hatred and a resentful Hook having almost the same look. She wasn't so worried about Hook because she knew that in the end he was harmless and usually needed others to do his bidding (reason why he excelled at being a captain). But Robin Hood was the opposite, and based on their previous encounter, the man was not ready to let go of Regina. _Regina, _she thought while smiling softly at the memories of last evening (before they discovered a heart on their porch). _Wait, did she say their? _she asked herself while smiling at what those words meant for her. Of course, after their discovery, Regina had been adamant about calling her parents to schedule a meeting, something about earning their trust by not keeping secrets from them. She had to agree, and at the same time she was happy that Regina was working at earning her redemption. It made her feel secure in what Regina wanted from them, and based on what little they had talked yesterday, the brunette wanted her in her life. She knew herself and she knew that she always refused to grow attached to places because of fear: She was scared of liking a place and then being forced to leave. Propriety meant settling down, and to say that she was considering Regina's place as her own meant something. _It means that I want Regina to be a part of my future, _she realized with a gigantic smile.

Regina, on the other hand, was on the verge of collapse. When she decided to cast the dark curse, the last thing that she thought would happen was that she would be in a preventive war meeting with Snow White, Prince Charming, their war council from the Enchanted Forest and the Savior. Now here she was, sitting and discussing the possible destruction of Storybrooke with the 'good guys', which in turn made her chuckle a little at the irony of the situation. She knew that if the royalty of the town forgave her (the Charmings), then the rest of the rabble would follow their lead. Nevertheless, to feel the stares of them on her, judging and deeming her unworthy of even being at the table, made her uncomfortable. That, and the fact that Robin was staring at her longingly and without any kind of shame, which made her feel even more uncomfortable. Emma must have noticed her discomfort because she felt a gentle squeeze on her tight.

Regina looked up and saw Emma staring lovingly at her. "You have every right to be here."

"Some people do not share that view with you." Regina whispered sadly while motioning at an angry looking Hook.

"Well, some people need to suck it up and realize that now you are one of the good guys." Emma whispered back fiercely. "And ignore him. He doesn't go beyond pouting."

Regina was going to answer when she saw that everyone was looking at the two of them in clear expectation. She gestured for Emma to look up and make a statement.

"Something you two would like to share?" Snow asked sarcastically.

"I think we are ok." Emma said back mockingly.

"You called us Emma because you said that you discovered something today." Charming said in full King mode.

"I did." Emma said to the whole room. "Because Regina suggested it."

Everyone grasped in total shock.

"I did promise my son to be completely honest and to redeem myself. In order to do that I have to help, which means keeping Storybrooke a safe place." Regina said softly. "But what we found today is not good news."

"We found a heart in a box." Emma said without fooling around.

"That's an easy one sister. We can blame the Evil Queen for that." Leroy said while pointing at Regina.

"It wasn't Regina." Emma defended her passionately. "Because the magic used to take out the heart is old and dark. I know the Blue Fairy will be able to corroborate that."

Regina stood up and grabbed the box with the heart and left in on top of the table.

The Blue Fairy made her way towards the front of the table, giving a warning look to Regina who nodded in understanding and stepped away from the box. Immediately, the Blue Fairy passed her wand over it, mumbling a revealing enchantment that came from the time of the Fae. When she felt the darkness leak from the heart she looked at Regina with fear in her eyes.

"This is not Regina's magic." she said solemnly. "This magic is old and dark. I have only heard of it, never actually seen it be performed before. And I have lived longer than the Dark One."

"So what is it?" Charming asked while approaching the box with Snow after getting the go ahead from the Blue Fairy.

"That is not a magical heart." Snow whispered.

Regina nodded. "It is not. What you are seeing right now is a normal heart."

"Which means that the owner is certainly dead." Charming added.

"Yes, but there is an aura to it." Regina said absently. "That beings with magic are able to feel. Like a signature. For example, I can be certain that Emma placed the protective spell around the townhouse because her magic has the trademark of smelling like lavender."

"It does?" Emma asked while smiling softly at her.

Regina smiled back and nodded. "It is a rather unique smell. The one that is only obtainable from the essence of the flower." she said while smiling with full adoration.

Snow looked at the exchange and huffed with surprise. To see Regina give compliments so freely was clearly strange, and to see Emma blush was even stranger. _Since Emma brought Marian back there has been something strange going on between them, _she mused to herself.

"So, you were saying about a signature?" Ruby interrupted them while chuckling. _They are so obvious that it is beyond adorable, _she smirked and winked at Regina who looked down in embarrassment.

"So yes, the signature of the magic used to take this heart out is unknown to me. But what I can tell you is that it is older than the magic taught by the Dark One." Regina said after being caught flirting with Emma.

"Speaking of Gold... Didn't anyone call him?" Emma asked.

"Couldn't find him Emma." Snow whispered. "We asked Belle and she has no idea of his whereabouts."

"And did you try tracking him?" Regina asked Ruby. "I may know quite a bit about magic, but the real expert here is that imp. We need his help."

"I tried Regina but I lost the trace at the Troll Bridge. I'm assuming he used magic to teleport himself." Ruby answered Regina.

"So then we have to assume he left town." Regina said angrily.

"Is that even possible? How can we be sure that this is not a trap of yours so we can do the opposite of what you tell us, leave town and forget our identities?" Hook asked with venom on his voice.

"Theoretically speaking? You can go right ahead and try that." Regina said absently, which made Hook get angrier. "But the repercussions of leaving I would not know them. You have to remember that it was never planned for anyone of this world to find Storybrooke. So, if one of you..." she said while pointing at Hook with hate but yet daring him to do the opposite of her warning. "Would leave then you would not be able to come back."

"Would we die if we try?" he asked angrily.

"Ok, I'm gonna stop this." Emma said angrily. "Hook, what the hell are you trying to achieve with your questions? Bring the town to hysteria?" she spat at him.

"I'm just being a concerned citizen, that's all. Since I have no way of leaving this place at least I would prefer to be safe from any kind of dangers."

"You are just being a pain in the ass." Emma hissed and then looked at Snow. "Why is he here?"

"I told him to come." Snow said confused. "Because he is our ally now? Did I do something wrong?" she asked Emma.

"You better not think about going behind our backs and doing something that may end up hurting the people of this town." Emma threatened him.

Snow noticed immediately that although Emma tried to say it as a general threat, the moment she finished scolding Hook she looked at Regina and nodded to herself. Seeing the calming effect that Regina seemed to have on her daughter started to make her feel suspicious, but when she saw the way Regina was looking at Emma, it finally dawned on her: _Regina cares about my daughter, _she realized in complete shock. She knew that look very well because she saw it on David's face every time _he _looked at _her._

_(Beginning of Flashback)_

_"You always look at me like that." Snow said to David silently. _

_David smiled. "Like what?" _

_"Like I'm the single best thing in the world." Snow answered while kissing him softly. "Like I'm the sun in your sky and the moon of your nights." she blushed softly._

_"I don't know if you are the best thing in the world." he said while laughing at Snow's expression. "But you are the best thing in _MY _world." he continued while peppering her with mouth with kisses. "And you are my sun and moon. Without you, life would be so dull and grey. I know we have a family now, but it is your family. I was just lucky enough to be chosen by you." _

_"It is your family too Charming. You are as responsible for it as am I." Snow scolded him sweetly. "And choosing you was the easiest decision I have ever made. Well, except when you were engaged to Abigail/Katherine. But other than that, loving you is just so easy." _

_David smiled brightly. "I guess that happens when you are with your True Love." he said mischievously while taking his shirt off. _

_Snow smiled and kissed him back while taking the rest of their clothes off._

_(End of Flashback)_

_Oh my God!, _Snow screamed internally, _Regina is in love with Emma and Emma loves her back! _She took a deep breath after her epiphany, looking around the table to see if anyone noticed how she had been distracted. Apparently Ruby did because she was smirking at her with a knowing smile, which in turn made Snow move her gaze from Emma to Regina in a clear need of confirmation. Ruby nodded and winked at her, which Snow knew was the way her friend was telling her she also saw it. _So she wasn't the only one that had realized something else was going on because Ruby noticed it too. And Ruby is a wolf, which means that she must have smelled... sweet God, _she blushed deeply and tried to focus back on the meeting. She saw Hook nod in resignation to whatever Emma had told him to do. Now that she was looking more clearly, Snow saw the way in which her daughter was leaning her body to Regina's and how the second one looked up and smiled thankfully.

"No. You would just not find the town again." Regina smiled evilly. "There is a containment spell inside the dark curse. Rumplestiltskin planned it all so that there would be secondary spells that would make removing the curse almost an impossible feat. Alas, we need the imp if we want to solve anything concerning magic or his curse."

Snow looked worriedly at Emma who nodded in agreement. "She is right mom. I can feel it too. The magic used to take out that heart is not Regina's or Gold's."

"How can we be sure that this is not a plan of the Evil Queen to destroy us again?" Robin Hood said angrily, making Snow look in complete shock at the man who had been so interested in helping and being with Regina. One thing she hated the most were hypocrites and it seems that Robin Hood was one of them.

"Apart from being told by Blue that it wasn't Regina's magic we can be sure..." Snow said before Emma even had the chance. "That it wasn't Regina because I trust her word. She has aided us since the curse broke, and I believe that it is time we stop blaming Regina for all the things that occur in this town. Remember that in the Enchanted Forest there were other dangers besides the Evil Queen." she spat in complete anger at the man who just nodded and shrugged down to his seat. Snow saw the way her daughter was smiling brightly at her.

Regina smiled at Snow. "Thank you Snow, and you are right. With the curse, a big part of the Enchanted Forest came with us, and the many people that were before in our land relocated themselves and took new identities just like the rest of you. Just as it happened with Zelena, who hid her Enchanted Forest self from us, many common enemies that we shared have kept themselves in the dark."

"So what we can we do then?" Charming asked with concern. "We don't know anything about our enemy, again."

"Emma and I can help with the placement of a protection spell around your homes." Regina said and Emma nodded.

"I won't set your house on fire if that is what you are worried about." Emma joked. "But I do believe that everyone should put some protection around their houses."

"The merrymen can also help." Robin Hood addressed the group, clearly trying to antagonize Emma. "Better to also have weapons to offer protection."

"What are you implying with that?" Emma spat.

"I? Nothing of course." Robin said while feigning innocence. "But then again, some people may not be comfortable with you two performing magic on their houses."

"And why would that be?"she hissed, daring him to continue.

"Well, we have to take into consideration that you are a novice at magic and that your teacher is not very popular with the townspeople." he said with fake innocent eyes.

"And your group of thieves are?"

Robin looked at her with anger. "We stole from the rich to help the poor."

"You took what was not yours and gave it away for your own personal gain. Did it feel good? To be seen as a savior?"

"How dare you!" he said while making his way for Emma.

Snow was in a faze. This man who had been so kind to them and willing to help had transformed himself into a jealous and spiteful man that had come to this meeting with the clear intent of hurting Regina. It wasn't fair for Regina to be at the hands of people like that, and because Regina had been at the hands of many Robin Hoods in Storybrooke (the townspeople), it was heartbreaking to see how hard her stepmother tried to maintain control of her emotions.

(Beginning of Flashback)

_"I know you." Snow told Regina while grabbing her hand. "And you feel things deeply. With or without it, you feel things with your whole soul." _

_Snow saw the tears fall from Regina's eyes and she brushed them softly with her thumb. It was so strange, yet heartwarming, to see this woman, this woman who had been a constant rock during most of her life, crumble in front of her. Many times as a child she had gone to Regina for comfort, and knowing now how things truly were, she had been surprised at Regina's capacity for caring about her. Even when deep inside of her heart, the older brunette had been incapable of loving her. No one, after understanding how much Cora had manipulated and hurt people, should have been able to love, and yet Regina was one of the fiercest lovers she had ever met: The love for life she had as a young woman, the love for revenge she had as a Queen and the love for a son that she had as Major. Yes, it can be agreed that Regina has done many wrong things during her life, but it is impossible to say that Regina has never loved because her whole life has been about filling the emptiness of her heart with love. _

_"Don't let anything hold you back." Snow finished while kissing Regina's temple and hugging her tightly. _

_Regina hugged her back fiercely and kept on crying until the tears stopped completely. When Snow saw Regina's eyes she noticed in them the love that she had craved for as a child. The love she had seen when that young woman had saved her from a horse and still had not experienced the true hardness of life. This young woman was now looking at her, expecting to be told what to do and Snow was not going to lose her again. This woman in front of her was the Regina she had been waiting for during her whole life. _

_"Love..." Snow said while smiling shyly at the memory. "True Love, is magic. Not just any magic but the most powerful magic of all. It creates happiness." _

_Regina smiled too._

_(End of Flashback)_

Before anyone could react they saw Regina stand up and place herself in front of Emma in a protective stance.

"Go ahead." she dared him. "Go ahead and hit her again like you did last time."

"That was an accident." he whispered while looking around the room.

"It was an accident that you hit _her_ because that fist was intended for my son!" she screamed at him. "I know what you are trying to achieve. Trust me, I have used the same tools." she said with regret. "What we had has been over since your wife came back through that portal."

"Because she destroyed it!" he pointed at Emma. "Regina, we were good together, don't you remember?"

"What I remember is you trying to punch my son and my Em..." Regina stopped herself in clear embarrassment. "my friend." she finished.

"I was angry, and I know it wasn't right." Robin tried to apologize while coming closer. "But you need to understand what I feel and what we have. What we can be."

Emma saw red the moment he saw Robin approaching Regina again. She knew that Regina was trying her hardest to not lose control and that her two hands being in a fist were a clear sign that she was losing that battle. Knowing how townspeople minds worked, they would forget every bad thing they heard about Robin and blame Regina if she lost control because in their eyes she would never change. This made her be more angry with her role as the Savior: It was the epitome of hypocrisy to see these people, who considered themselves the 'good guys', refuse to forgive and give second chances.

"Just stop please. You keep telling everyone about honor and doing what is right and yet here you are begging me to do something wrong. Forcing yourself on me and my life. You have a family, Robin: A wife and a son that need you. Would you abandon them so lightly?" Regina asked again in hope of showing the town Robin's true colors.

"If I cannot be honest with my feelings for them because of you, then yes I would. I have always done the honorable thing and look where it has led me." he said with anger.

"So you blame me for your misfortune with your family and yet you cannot let me move on even when you just got another chance at happiness." Regina mused to herself in complete shock. "And I thought I was the evil one." Emma heard Regina whisper sadly.

"You are! You are the Evil Queen after all." he said darkly. "You put a spell on me and made me fall in love with you so you wouldn't be alone anymore." he said out-loud. "Maybe Marian was right and you truly are a monster." he finished with a dark smile on his face.

The moment he said that, Emma's anger couldn't be kept at bay any longer and she threw herself at the man. She knew he was stronger than her but then again she had the element of surprise and magic.

"You bastard." Emma screamed. "Stop being so fucking selfish and let Regina live her life. Go back to your family and leave mine alone!"

Everyone froze after Emma's words while Regina looked at the blonde with full adoration. Snow confirmed her previous suspicions about Regina's feelings as soon as she saw the way in which the older brunette's eyes were filling with tears. She knew that look very well: that was the look of True Love.

"Charming, won't you do something?" Snow asked with little concern for Robin Hood when she realized how manipulative he really was.

"I should, right?" he mused with hate. "But then again he tried to hit my grandson, got my daughter instead and is now messing with her family." he smiled darkly. "I think Emma can take care of things."

"So you noticed it too."

"That Emma is head over heels in love with Regina?" Charming smirked. "With the way Emma had been following Regina around like a little lost puppy and the dreamy stares those two were giving each other during the meeting, I wouldn't be surprised that the whole town now knew. "

"And how do we feel about this?" Snow asked Charming.

"Well, I think the real question for us is: How does Emma feel? It's her life, and although I can think of many reasons to prevent her from getting involved with Regina, I can also think of one that puts all the others to shame."

"And what reason is that?" Snow smiled, proud of her husband.

"True Love." Charming smiled at his wife and pointed at Emma who was still grabbing Robin down. "Apart from our daughter reacting like an angry pit-bull, the way those two look at each other is the same way we look at each other."

"Good." Snow said and motioned for them to get closer to where the quarrel was taking place. "I think it's time Regina gets her happy ending, and if Emma was meant to be that happy ending then, who are we to stop it from happening?"

Meanwhile, Emma had been surprised for a while when she felt that no one was trying to separate her from Robin Hood, who was attempting, and failing at hitting any part of her anatomy. Completely bored and ready to just get done with the man, she pinned him to the ground.

"I believe these are old warning words, but trust me when I tell you that if I see you trying to mess up Regina's happiness I will destroy you. Regina is mine." she whispered possessively.

Robin opened his eyes in clear shock. "You, and her?" he screamed in shock. "She would never be with someone as tainted as you, orphan." he spat at the blonde, who recoiled, but still refused to release her hold on the man.

Regina decided to end things once for all, and approaching the two people on the ground she whispered. "Yes. And she is so much more than what you could ever wish to be. She _is _my True Love and I am hers." she finished possessively before grabbing Emma's hand and pulling her up. "Thank you." she said while caressing Emma's cheek lovingly.

"For what?" Emma asked while accepting the gesture.

"For defending me. Again."

Emma's heart warmed. "For you Gina, anything."

Regina was moving forwards but then she heard the soft squeals of people around her. Realizing where they were, the two women separated and immediately saw the shocked expressions of the members of the war council. Emma smiled softly and grabbed Regina's hand and kissed it softly.

"I guess the cat is out of the bag." she said while smiling. "And although we are not ashamed, we would prefer it if you kept this evening discussions to yourselves."

Everyone nodded in understanding, and after Snow adjourned the meeting because of Robin's breakdown, the two Charmings approached Emma and Regina. Emma looked at them and shuffled around the room.

"Is there something you want to tell us? Snow mocked the blonde.

"I was going to tell you as soon as we settled things between us." Emma said apologetically. "I mean, I wanted to tell you after I asked Gina to be my girlfriend but then this happened and I just had to stop him from being a jerk and..."

"Darling." Snow said while smiling softly. "You are rambling. And I know what you mean with Regina." she smiled brightly at the woman who returned her smile. "She does seem to have a special charm with the women of this family."

Regina blushed deeply. "Although it is hard to admit, I must say that you were quite adorable when you were a child and you looked at me and blushed."

Snow blushed in embarrassment, which earned a laugh from Emma. "You had a crush on Regina too?"

"She was beautiful and she was my step-mother." Snow said while smiling and grabbing Regina's hand.

"And I apologize for not being the best one." Regina lowered her gaze.

"In your own way you were. Because if you had been different I wouldn't have become the woman I am today and I wouldn't have the life I have today. All of this occurred thanks to you." Snow winked.

Charming nodded. "If you wouldn't have made her an outlaw we would have probably never met."

"And you would have never had Emma." Regina said while looking at Emma with complete love.

Snow nodded. "I took your chance at happiness away when I told Cora about Daniel." she whispered softly. "So it seems right that I give it back to you by bringing Emma to this world." she smiled at the last part.

Regina felt tears falling from her face, accepting the forgiveness and understanding that came from her ex-arch nemesis. She knew that she didn't deserve any of it but here she was now having her happy ending. It took longer than expected but it happened. Regina smiled and hugged both Snow and Emma at the same time.

"Thank you." she whispered to both.


	6. Soulmate

After being banned from the secret meeting, Henry found himself walking around Storybrooke without a clear place in mind. He knew that he was going against his moms' orders when they told him to stay inside and be to safe. But can you really blame him? He was 14 years and he was bored. He was also curious about the contents of the box which, based on the faces of his moms and the emergency meeting that they organized because of it, must have serious and possibly had to do with the safety of the town. After seemingly walking towards the docks, Henry saw in complete shock how a portal opened itself and a tall man with grey hair and a burned face came out of the water. To say that he was afraid was an understatement, and when that said portal started buzzing again and a very tired and angry Rumplestiltskin came out of it, Henry knew that his Mom had not been exaggerating about being in danger. He slowly hid himself under some boxes and held up his breath as much as possible so he wouldn't be heard.

"Remember Rumple, you now work for me." the man said evilly. "All magic comes with a price, and your price is that dagger of yours."

"You control me, but let me tell you that what you plan to achieve will not occur. I have seen it not happening." Rumple sneered.

"Yes, so have I. It will not happen until _we _change some things." the man smiled wickedly. "After all, one of the perks of being the Dark One is that brain and magic of yours."

"With having lived as long as you, one would expect Mephisto to know some things about magic."

"Oh, but I do know Rumple." Mephisto answered him while laughing. "Still, I need some juice to pump me up and start the spell that I intend to cast."

"So I'm just a battery."

"More like a vessel." Mephisto said while moving towards the sea again. "You will come to my aid every time I ask and I forbid you from helping anyone. That, and also you cannot tell the truth." he finished while putting the dagger in his pocket. "Be ready for my call." Mephisto finished while walking right back to the portal and leaving an angry Rumple stare at the sea with resignation.

Henry was in complete shock. What he had seen had been both thrilling and terrifying. He knew his Mom's would scold and punish him for running away but it was imperative for them to know that there was a new threat in Storybrooke and that it was powerful enough to control the Dark One.

* * *

"That went better than expected." Emma smiled.

"Which part? The one where your parents were surprisingly ok with us being together or the one where you convinced the town of my innocence without much trouble?" Regina sassed.

"Can I say both?" the blonde smiled softly and took the brunette's hand. "You know that what they said is not true."

"That I am no longer the Evil Queen?" Regina asked softly.

"No, you are still her." Emma simply said. "I didn't get to meet her but, based on what Mary Margaret told me, the Evil Queen was a strong, resourceful and determined woman. In what she used those traits was her mistake, a mistake that she has spent quite some time trying to mend." Emma smiled and kissed Regina chastely. "And I think that it's time for everyone to realize this."

"You truly are incredible." Regina said in complete awe. "Whatever have I done to deserve the affection of such a beautiful soul?" she mused quietly.

"Hey, look at me." Emma prompted Regina while tilting her chin up. "You deserve this. You deserve happiness. Even if it is not with me, I will help you get your happy ending."

Instead of answering Regina looked at Emma and kissed her with all her might. She wanted Emma to know how she felt, what she felt, and how deep her feelings were. _It was beyond doubt, _Regina realized, _that Emma loves me as much as I love her. _Never, after Daniel, had anyone placed her happiness in such an important place, much less fight for it. Would she be able to do the same for Emma? Yes she would. Regina knew that she was a selfish woman, and to the rest of the world she would always be that way, but with Emma and Henry it was different. If she could she would give the world to them. But what she could, and would do, was give them the small goodness that remained in her heart. She would give them her life if it meant their safety. Regina was too overwhelmed by the level of love she felt, and yet she found herself craving Emma's touch. She wanted Emma to understand it all. She wanted Emma to understand _all _of her.

"Emma..." Regina husked while kissing Emma's neck. "I want..."

"Whatever you want I'll give it to you. _Because it is already yours_" Emma swore while moaning softly.

"I want you to place your hand in my heart." Regina whispered with adoration. "I have never been good with words and sometimes my actions are not enough."

"Regina you don't have to prove anything to me." Emma said a little scared of hurting Regina.

"It is not because I want to prove you something. It is because I want to show it, to share with you what I am incapable of saying out-loud." Regina promised with fervor. "It will not hurt me because your intention is not to do so."

Emma gulped, afraid but yet willing to do what Regina said because she understood the brunette's needs. She also had the same trouble with showing emotions and feelings, but for some reason it was easier to open herself up to Regina. Maybe it was because she had been hit and scarred so many times when showing she cared: Daniel, Cora, Henry and Robin were clear examples of times when Regina's love led her to sorrow. And, what surprised and made Emma love Regina even more was the older brunette's determination at still wanting to open up her heart to love again, at showing her soul to Emma and sharing their feelings and emotions. _I promise you I will never let you suffer again, _Emma promised internally.

Regina took Emma's hand and planted a sweet kiss on top of it while quietly chanting soft words. When the blonde's hand started to glow she realized that her spell had worked and that the only thing left to do was for Emma to push her hand inside. Regina looked at Emma and smiled lovingly while moving the hand to her own chest.

"Now you will simply push your hand in and go for my heart." Regina said softly. "Try not to squeeze so hard and feel the magic direct you towards its target."

Emma nodded, and after receiving another encouragement from Regina she pushed her hand inside, immediately feeling the physical barrier of Regina's chest expanding and making space for her hand. She closed her eyes and did what Regina had told her to do, to let the magic lead her naturally towards her destination. As the hand moved in she saw Regina's eyes flutter shut and grimace a little bit. Emma recoiled and tried to take her hand out but was stopped by Regina's other hand.

"But it's hurting you." Emma said worriedly.

"Not painfully. It is another kind of hurt." Regina said with tears in her eyes.

Emma understood what Regina meant the moment her hand touched Regina's heart. A white light surrounded the room and engulfed the two of them in its brightness. Regina opened her eyes and smiled brightly at Emma who looked completely shocked.

"This is what you make me feel." Regina said radiantly. "Every time you touch me my heart explodes. It feels and moves as if it had never been hurt." she continued in awe.

"That white light, I have seen it before." Emma said dumbly.

Regina nodded. "That light is very unique. That light is pure magic. Unpolluted and raw magic. It is the most powerful magic of all."

"I thought True Love was the most powerful magic of all." Emma said in awe.

"Commonly it is easier to find True Love's magic, but when there is True Love shared between soul mates..." Regina looked at Emma's reaction before continuing. "Then the magic that you saw is the result."

_Soulmates? _Emma thought in complete shock. _I'm Regina's Soulmate? _She looked at Regina and saw the love and fear of sharing that revelation with Emma, the fear of being rejected yet again after opening her heart. This woman was just like her, and yet she was not. She was her own person and had her own life, yet she was able to understand Emma without hesitation. They had even lived the same experiences of love and pain. Of being used and then dumped time after time. This made Emma realize that this woman had lived her life without even realizing it and that she had lived Regina's life too.

Regina looked at Emma's face and instantly saw and heard Emma's thoughts. She had read in Rumplestiltskin's books about this connection that Soulmates shared, but to experience it was too overwhelming. She followed Emma's internal conversation and went back to the time where the two of them had practiced with that truth spell.

(Beginning of Flashback)

_After Emma calmed down from her moment of sadness, Regina felt that the air in the room had grown deeper. What had started as a simple lesson had evolved into a heart to heart that she knew for certain was going to change the relationship the two of them had. Regina gulped in anticipation, knowing what was going to happen next. She knew she had to share a burning truth with Emma, not only because it was part of the spell, but because Emma had done the same first. _

_"I married King Leopold when I was 17." Regina said while looking at the wall. "And things in our world were different than here. My mother never told me about sex and what one was supposed to feel. You met her, so surely you realize how little to zero concern she could have had on the matter. I was never able to be with Daniel in that way." Regina whispered sadly. "But I did feel the attraction and the need to have more than hidden kisses. Still, we always stopped before things went further because we wanted our first time to be special. I know that here your age of sexual awakening comes at an early age, but in the Enchanted Forest virginity was sacred. Most noblewomen remained virgins until their marriage, and only ever knew the touch of their husbands. So, imagine a naive, hidden from society young girl's fantasies about her first time. I wanted to feel loved, I wanted to feel connected, both physically and emotionally to the man I loved, reason why I was just waiting for was for our wedding night to take the final step." she hissed angrily and then laughed. "But you know that never happened." _

_Regina stopped her tale to see Emma's reaction. She expected to see pity or sorrow, but instead she was met with understanding and calmness. This made her soften her gaze. _

_"Instead I found myself engaged and married to a man that I did not know and three times my age." she whispered while tears started to fall from her eyes. "I thought that by being a good mother to Snow and being a respectful queen to him it would be enough, but the reality was the opposite: He also wanted a woman. But the thing is that I really was not one. Physically yes, I was capable, but I had the innocence of a young girl. I was naive and willing to please if it meant no more pain, which led me to think that the king would wait. But he did not." Regina was crying openly now. "We slept in separate chambers, and for the first months he came every night. Every night I had to feel him inside of me, hear his grunting and crying when he realized that I was not his dead wife. I felt like an object, like a slave that was only meant to receive whatever came her way. After he finished his business I was terrified of what had happened. I was so scared of being able to conceive and have a child with him because I knew that I would never be able to love it as my own. Every time I would have been reminded of what had happened, of how he came to be. That would have made me incapable of seeing him, of loving him as a child should be loved. Not only that, but every night I went to sleep I had nightmares where I could see Leopold's disgusting face. I did not want that child to be unloved. No child should doubt their parents' love." Regina said while crying harder. _

_She instantly felt soft hands caress her face in the same fashion that she had done before, and surprisingly she got comfort from that touch. Long fingers were stroking her hair and lips were kissing her face. It had been too overwhelming to share the truth with Emma without having something to anchor herself to. Still, knowing that what came next was more shocking than what she had already shared, Regina grabbed Emma's hand and squeezed it. _

_"I was so terrified of giving that kind of fate to a child that I secretly went to a witch and asked for her help. I told her that I was bound to the King and that I did not want to bear him a child. The woman, in exchange for protection under my rule and immense wealth, gave me a potion. A potion that would ensure I never have a child." Regina cried even harder if it was possible. "At the time I was young and desperate, and the mere thought of a child gave me these feelings of hate that I refused to have, so I did not hesitate to take it. At first, I did not feel anything because I was planning my revenge, but then the years passed and I felt such an emptiness that could not be filled. I knew right away what I was missing, and realizing that I was incapable of filling this need, to never truly have a child of mine, I entered a small depression: I realized that I would never have everything I desired because of my own hand." Regina chuckled darkly. "You can imagine the irony when I searched_ _Rumplestiltskin and asked him to procure me a child."_

_"I wish I would have been there." Emma said fiercely. "I wish I would have been there so I could have protected you. I don't care if he was my grandfather, but what he did, hell what your mother did to you was wrong. You deserved better. You deserve better." _

_Regina smiled softly and kissed Emma's cheek softly. "But Emma, you helped. Without you even knowing it you gave me hope, you gave me love again: You gave me Henry."_

(End of Flashback)

Because of their new found link Emma was able to feel all the emotions that Regina was having while watching her memories, and after witnessing their old heart to heart she knew that what they had would last forever. It was the second part of the promise she had made to Regina, the part where she promised her help with finding her happiness. Ironically, it seems that their happy endings were linked together and, without realizing it they had started to walk towards this day. Emma smiled. _It was totally worth it._

"Reginaaaa." Emma said in adoration while taking her hand out of Regina's heart and grabbing her face. "I love you." she said before lowering her lips on top of hers and kissing her soul mate with all her might.

"You love me?" Regina asked in complete shock after that spellbound kiss. "You really do?"

Emma nodded. "I love you so much it hurts to now think of your life without me in it. I may be the Savior, but that doesn't mean that I'm not selfish enough to let you be without me."

Regina smirked a little and sat herself on top of Emma. "Then don't." she whispered. "You took my heart Emma Swan, and you saved it. It belongs to you now."

Emma kissed Regina reverently. "The moment you held me after telling you about my shitty past was the moment I realized how much I loved you. At the time I thought it was just friendship, and that I was jealous of Robin Hood because he stole time that I could be spending with you." Emma snorted in clear disgust at the mention of his name. "But now it's obvious that I was jealous of him being with you."

Regina nodded. "I think it is clear that I felt the same way when I saw you with Hook in Neverland and then again after we came back. What I thought was just hate for him turned to also be jealousy."

"You were really jealous? You could have anyone you want Regina." Emma said in awe.

"And yet the only person I could ever want is you Emma." Regina smiled softly and started to bend down. "I want you to be mine."

Emma nodded and got closer to Regina's face. "I am already yours Regina Mills. And I will always be."

Regina smiled lovingly and lowered her lips to make full contact with Emma's. This time their kiss was passionate and out of control, each woman craving to touch the other until oblivion. Emma felt Regina's weight on top of her lower area, and stifling a high moan she started to slightly thrust her hips up and down. Regina shuddered at the contact of Emma's hips hitting her core, and after it became too much to bear she lowered her hands to Emma's pants and started to open them. Emma smirked softly and used her own hands to rake over Regina's back. The skin felt soft and it made Emma moan while detaching her lips from Regina's mouth and taking them to her neck where she started to suck softly.

"Em...ma..." Regina choked in clear arousal. "Do not stop." she whispered while continuing to take Emma's clothes off.

Instead of responding Emma used her mouth to bite softly Regina's shoulder, which earned her a soft grunt. Smiling to herself, Emma kept going lower and passed her lips through Regina's breasts, which were still covered by her bra and shirt. Feeling them perk under her ministrations was encouragement enough to raise Regina's shirt and press her mouth over a mound and kiss it.

Regina hissed at the feeling of having Emma's mouth on her breast, and after enjoying the feeling for a couple of seconds she lowered her hand over Emma's panties and closed it in front of her core. Teasing it lightly with her knuckles she heard Emma grunt and push her body down in a clear attempt to get friction. She smiled to herself at seeing how much Emma desired her, the warmness of Emma's core a clear sign of her arousal.

Emma was so ready for Regina. She felt her whole body exploding every single time she felt a caress or touch. She was on fire and Regina was the only one capable of turning it off. Her fingers started a slow path on the brunette's skin, moving from her neck towards her lower back, goosebumps rising with every brush of her hand. During a long time she had fantasies where this occurred, and now that it was a reality she hoped she would make Regina be as satisfied as she was now. Seeing Regina's face of bliss was a sign that until now she was succeeding. Emma unclasped Regina's bra and again attacked her breast, sucking and licking them lightly while using her hand to pinch and move the other one.

Regina gulped and felt warmness spread between her legs. She looked up and saw Emma concentrated on sucking her breasts while enjoying the feeling of Regina's hand grinding with her clit. It wasn't enough to let her come but it was good enough to make her feel good. Regina took her hand away from Emma's hair and lowered it between them so she could discard Emma's panties, wanting that last barrier that separated her from the blonde's intimacy completely gone. When she finally had Emma naked from the waist down she looked in awe at the woman in front of her and licked her lips in anticipation. She lowered her fingers and got ready to finally penetrate Emma who had caught up with what was happening and was holding her breath in anticipation.

"Moms! Moms!" the two of them heard Henry scream from the front door.

The two aroused women were distracted from their bliss by the sound of Henry's voice and assumed that they had just imagined the noise. Nevertheless, when they heard the door banging they separated and stood up from the bed, both frustrated beyond compare.

"I swear that if it's not a life or death situation I will kill the kid myself." Emma groaned while looking for her discarded panties and pants.

Regina did not answer her, merely locating her clothes and quickly putting them on, none the less checking herself on the mirror to see if she was presentable enough. Last thing she wanted to do was to scar her son for life with the image of the two of them together in a compromised position.

"We have not told Henry." Regina realized. "About us being together."

"Shit, you are right." Emma cursed and got herself a scolding look from Regina. "Since he ruined the mood I guess we can tell him now."

Regina nodded, and after softly kissing the blonde one last time the two of them made their way downstairs in a complete mess and saw a very ruffled and scared looking Henry search for them.

"Henry!" Regina screamed. "I thought you were in your room!" she choked out, confused by her arousal mixed with the fear of knowing Henry had been gone.

Henry shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I got bored and left."

"Henry you promised us." Emma said disappointed.

"I know I did, but I thought Mom was exaggerating."

"You thought?" Emma asked while suspiciously looking at him. "What made you change your mind."

"I saw my grandpa talking with another man on the docks." he said quietly.

"David?" Regina asked. "Nothing suspicious or wrong with that I guess."

"My _other _grandpa. " Henry said.

"Mr. Gold was at the docks?!" Emma screamed. "He pretended to leave town so we wouldn't find him. What an ass."

"No Ma." Henry stopped her. "He said he was being controlled by the other man because the other man held his dagger."

"So the imp lost his dagger. Again." Regina scoffed. "Seriously, he should be more careful with it."

"Mom, the old man with the burned face stole it from him."

Regina flinched. "Burned face?" she asked with a small voice.

"Wait, you know who Henry is talking about?" Emma asked worriedly.

"He gave his name, am I right?" Regina asked Henry.

He nodded. "He said his name was Mephisto."

Emma saw all sign of life disappear from Regina's face. Whomever this Mephisto guy was, he was clearly powerful. Probably more than Mr. Gold himself. These were very bad news indeed.

"You know him?" Emma asked a shocked Regina.

"Everyone does." Regina said. "Mephisto is just the short name of Mephistopheles, the devil himself."


	7. A Walk Through Dark Memory Lane

Snow woke up after hearing the sound of her phone. She quickly separated from Charming's embrace and stood up from her bed. After tainting in the dark for a couple of seconds she finally found it and took a glance at it. Seeing that it was her daughter calling she immediately answered it.

"Is everything ok?" She asked with determination.

It took a little long for Emma to answer. _"I don't know..." _

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"_I don't know Mom, one moment Regina and I were... talking" _she heard Emma swallow softly in embarrassment._ "And then Henry barged in bringing news of Rumplestiltskin's_ _whereabouts." _

"So he is back? Will he help us?" she asked relieved.

_"Mom, I think he is partially responsible for what is happening and what will happen." _

"What do you mean partially?" Snow huffed. "He is either responsible or not."

"_If only things were that simple." _she heard Emma muse quietly. "_I said partially because Henry says that he is being controlled by another man that names himself Mephisto." _

Snow held her breath. Mephisto was a name she had dreaded to hear during her childhood: Tales of him terrifying townspeople who were happy kept her and many more children awake during most nights. She still remembered how one day she went to search for her stepmother, hoping to get answers to some questions that she had about the strange man. It had been difficult to admit, but as a grownup she realized that she had been a brat during her childhood. Not only that, but she had thought that everything revolved around her, which in turn made her spy on private conversations. The name of the man came on one of them, some of the guards of the castle mentioning that everyone seemed to be too terrified of him and what he could do. This happened when some months after her father's passing and Regina had been named Queen. At that time what Snow saw was a strong, hard to reach, but yet loveable person willing to take care of her people, fact that was not a complete lie. The Evil Queen had been many things, but one thing no one could deny was that she had always been good at ruling and maintaining balance and stability at her kingdom. Now that she thinks of it, during her childhood Regina was never mean, never harmed her and always treated her right. It's true she wasn't the warmest person, but she protected and educated her in a way that led her to become the woman she is today (just like she had told Regina earlier).

(Beginning of Flashback)

_"Stepmother!" Young Snow ran through the room where she knew Regina would be sitting. _

_Regina turned around and nodded softly at Snow who took it as a sign to approach. _

_"Whatever is the matter dear? Remember, young princesses do not yell." she scolded her lightly while smirking a little. _

_"Sorry stepmother." Snow apologized quietly. "It's just that I was outside in the courtyard and I heard some guards talk about a terrifying man who killed people because it was fun." _

_Regina looked at her with uneasiness. "I will inform my guards to be on patrol and be more careful with the information they share on the royal grounds." she gave a knowing motion to the younger brunette who realized she had been caught. "And I promise you that I find this man and bring him to justice." she assured Snow. "Did they say his name?" _

_"They said he was a fallen angel that had been narcissistic when it came to his own beauty. That he became jealous of the first humans that lived on our world because they had no worries and sorrows that made them unhappy. This angered the angel, and in an attempt to change things, he led a rebellion that ended with him being exiled to the farthest parts of the Earth. Taking his followers to what they call Hell, he started to spread their unhappiness around the world by making them search for content souls to destroy their happiness. Some even saying that he was responsible for creating unhappiness." Snow rambled while looking at her stepmother with fear. "Is that possible?" _

_Regina thought for a while her answer. "I think..." she continued while grabbing Snow's hand. "That we are responsible for our own destiny. The decisions we take, good or bad, always have consequences and repercussions. Some may be seen and immediate while others are ignored and lay dormant." she finished carefully. "Our own happiness comes from our own weaknesses since you will only feel pain if you allow for things to hurt you." _

_Snow smiled warmly and nodded at what her stepmother had just said. She really was the fairest of them all, making her want to be just as beautiful and as wise as her. "You are right stepmother. I won't let comments like that affect my judgment anymore." _

_Regina nodded and looked back to her stash of paperwork before hearing Snow make her way for the door. "Snow..." she asked while looking up one more time. Children, although with individuals with fantastic imaginations, tended to tell the truth always. "Could you indulge my curiosity and tell me the name of the man?" _

_Snow smiled happily, glad to be taken seriously by her stepmother. "They said his name was Mephisto." _

_She could have swore that she saw her stepmother's cold expression crumple and acquire a look of total fear. Before getting the opportunity to question things further she saw Regina regain control of her emotions, nodding at the information she had just received while dismissing the child at the same time. This only made Snow suspect that her stepmother was hiding something from her, something that had to do with the name of the man that had clearly scared her stepmother. And, an important piece of information that young Snow learned as a child was that not many things were capable of scaring the Queen._

(End of Flashback)

"_Did you hear anything I just said?" _she heard Emma complain.

"Sorry darling, I was thinking."

"_Obviously not in what I just told you." _Emma complained again. "_I told you that after hearing the name Mephisto Regina got all serious and worried, telling me to call you right away so we could meet at the mansion. Like right now." _

Snow nodded to herself. Regina definitely knew something about this man that terrified her to the point of admitting and showing that fear to Emma.

"_I think she is exaggerating a little and that it can wait until morning." _Emma continued rambling. "_But she convinced me to call you and tell you what happened. Something about a conversation you two had once upon a time about angels."_

"I remember that conversation very well Emma, and I think you should support the decisions and opinions that your... significant other has." she scolded her daughter lightly.

_"So it's not some random bullshit? This guy is serious?" _Emma asked quietly. "_He really is the devil himself?" _

"That's what people said in our realm Emma. Is he a supernatural being? That I don't know. But trust me that none of the things that they said about him were good Emma. He was known for killing people and bringing unhappiness everywhere." Snow said seriously, trying to make Emma understand.

"_Ok, now I may know why Regina was so scared." _

"I think she knows even more than that, with her being a witch and having magic." Snow said. "I know Regina, and although sometimes she seems unapproachable, what she truly craves is to share with someone her fears and burdens."

_"I can do that." _Emma said seriously. "_I would do anything for her." _she said more quietly but still as fervently as before.

Snow smiled at the revelation. "That's what we do for our True Loves."

"_You knew Regina was my True Love?" _she heard Emma ask surprised.

"I suspected it when I saw the way you looked at each other in that meeting. You looked at her the same way your father looks at me. Like I'm his only sun."

_"I just feel so much Mom." _Emma confided. "_And it's so wonderful and beautiful..."_

"And yet overwhelming because you could have never suspected you would feel something so strong and in such a short matter of time for someone else? Someone who wouldn't be your normal choice?" Snow asked knowingly.

"_Exactly." _Emma said. "_All of what you said is what I feel." _

"Then I think you should follow your old man's example and do what he did. Get the girl." Snow smirked a little.

_"This family just keeps getting weirder and weirder." _Emma chuckled. "_My mom telling me to get it on with her stepmother." _

"Now that you put it like that..." Snow mused to herself. "You see, Regina was always a big sister to me. A sister that pretends she doesn't like you but in reality she cares. And age-wise we are both closer to being that than mother and daughter."

_"I know that as well." _Emma said darkly.

Snow wanted to question Emma's answer but she heard some noises on Emma's side and her daughter's short affirmative answer.

"_That was Regina. She is asking me if you are coming. I said yes." _she cautioned her softly.

Snow agreed anyway. "I will wake your father and go as soon as we are ready."

As soon as Emma finished the call she stood up and immediately hugged Regina. She felt bad for having taken the brunette's concern so lightly. Her mother was right: She had to support Regina and be there for her. She also understood that Regina grew up without that kind of care from her family and for her to ask for help was a rare event. It had been during another lesson when Emma convinced Regina to share with her memories of her childhood. Of course, it had been an accident that occurred when Emma failed to cast a transportation spell and instead did a memory-sharing one.

(Beginning of Flashback)

**_(Beginning of Memory)_**

**_Emma saw a white light come over them, and as she opened her eyes she found herself outside of a stable. She knew that she was in the Enchanted Forest, recognizing some of the landscape when she hopped through that portal with Snow. But what shocked her the most to see was a young Regina smiling brightly while riding a horse. Emma swooned, the image of a happy and carefree Regina warming her heart immensely. Young Regina was making her horse jump the obstacles that were around the field under the gaze of an older, but sweet looking, man. That must be Regina's father, Emma mused to herself and tried to get closer to them so she could listen to their conversation._**

**_"That was wonderful dear!" the old man said with excitement. _**

**_Regina smiled brightly and got down from the horse. "It was exhilarating." she whispered happily. "Every time I make Rocinante jump I feel free." _**

**_The old man nodded in understanding, his happy smile changing for one of resignation. "I wish I was braver." he said quietly. _**

**_Regina immediately approached him and cupped his cheek softly. "She would use her magic on you without a doubt father. The thought of you getting injured because of me would be unbearable." _**

**_Regina's father still looked down in shame. "You deserve to be free Regina. You deserve to be happy." _**

**_"I'm happy now Father, and it's all because of you." Regina smiled warmly. "You taught me how to ride, you gave me Rocinante, you have given me love and warmth since I can remember." _**

**_"Because I love you with all my heart. You have a beautiful and loving soul my child. Whomever earns it will be very lucky." _**

**_Regina's smile faltered. "You know she will never allow me to choose father. To her I'm nothing. I'm just a tool that will help her reach a goal." _**

**_"She just wants what she thinks is the best for you. She wants you to have what she never had." _**

**_"I don't want her life father. I want a life of my own. I want the right to decide to whom I will give my heart to. I want to be truly free." she finished with yearning. _**

**_The old man was going to answer her when he stopped death in his tracks and looked with fear at the woman who had appeared from a cloud of purple smoke. The woman smiled evilly at the two of them while getting closer to where they were standing. Emma saw Regina stare defiantly back, clearly scared but refusing to show it. _**

**_"Mother." Regina nodded curtly. _**

**_"I thought I told you to get ready for tea." Cora smiled but it just didn't seem right. "You know I don't like tardiness." _**

**_"I apologize mother. It seems I lost track of time while riding." Regina said carefully. _**

**_"I can see that." Cora pointed absently at the old man who nodded in agreement. "But you must realize that a queen can never lose track of time."_**

**_"I'm not a queen." Regina spat. _**

**_"But you will be." Cora smiled knowingly. "Which is why you must prepare for it and stop wasting time with this..." she pointed at Rocinante. "Idiotic activities."_**

**_"Why do you always criticize me?" _**

**_"I'm not criticizing you, I'm helping you." Cora tried to say sweetly. _**

**_Emma saw Regina fume angrily and abruptly turn around, hoping to finish the conversation. Nevertheless, before she was able to do, Emma felt the air switch and Regina rise to the sky, clearly trapped with magic. _**

**_"Don't you dare walk away from me!" Cora said angrily. _**

**_"Mother!" Regina screamed in fear. Emma could see the old man try to dissuade the woman from continuing with her torture to no avail._**

**_"You know I don't like it when you use magic." Regina got her courage back. _**

**_"And I don't like insolence. I'll stop using magic when you start being an obedient daughter." _**

**_"Why can't I just be myself?" Regina almost screamed. _**

**_"Because you can be so much more, if you would just let me help you." _**

**_"I don't care about status, I just want to be..." Regina screamed when the belts that had been holding her started to get tighter around her body. _**

**_"Cora please!" Regina's father said scared. _**

**_"Please..." Regina whimpered, defeated. "I'll be good."_**

**_As soon as those words were out of her mouth Emma saw how Cora lower Regina. _**

**_"Good. That's all I wanted to hear." Cora smirked. _**

**_Emma saw with anger and sadness how a scared and wounded Regina quickly left the field, the sight of tears falling from her face a gut-wrenching sign._**

**_(End of Memory)_**

_Emma immediately opened her eyes to see brown eyes staring back at her in complete shock and anger. _

_"Regina..." Emma started but was interrupted. _

_"I told you to do a transportation spell and instead you do a memory-sharing one." Regina said angrily. "You truly do not follow orders very well, Miss Swan."_

_Emma saw that Regina was trying her hardest to not break under the strength of the memories they shared a few moments ago and how they still affected her after all this time. _

_"Can you tell me about it?" Emma asked shyly. _

_"About what Miss Swan?" Regina asked upset. _

_"Your time in the Enchanted Forest." _

_"You have read Henry's storybook. I am sure they narrate with enough detail about my time as the Evil Queen." _

_"No. I want to know about the Regina I saw in those memories." Emma said softly while approaching Regina slowly. _

_"That woman no longer exists." Regina whispered. "She died the moment her own mother tore out the heart of her True Love." _

_"Daniel." Emma whispered, clearly remembering the story. _

_Regina nodded. _

_"But how could your father allow it?" Emma said with shock. _

_"My father was a wonderful but yet very weak man." Regina said softly. "He loved me dearly but was incapable of standing up to my mother. He never was and never did anything to contradict her direct orders." _

_"I bet that was hard." Emma said softly. _

_"It was hard when I was younger." Regina said. "I could never understand how he would claim to love me while at the same time he nothing to protect me. I realize now that he had grown to fear my mother. The same fear the townspeople have on me." Regina mused quietly. _

_"You are nothing like Cora." Emma reassured her fiercely. "You could never be like her." _

_"How can you be sure? I am a monster just like her." _

_"No, you are not. And I'm sure because sadly your mother was incapable of love. You, on the other hand, are not Regina because you love Henry." _

_"I named him after my father." Regina smiled sadly. "Because even during my darkest times my father gave himself to me. He brought me to Henry, in the end giving me my happy ending." _

_Emma smiled knowingly. "He seemed like a sweet man. A scared, but sweet man that would do anything within his power to make you happy." _

_Regina nodded, although tears were falling from her eyes. "I still remember the look in his eyes when I took his heart out. They were looking lovingly at me, as if knowing and accepting his fate." Regina shuttered. "I am not my mother because I was even worse than her. I took my own father's heart out." _

_Emma flinched a little at Regina's honesty but still went forward and enveloped her in a warm hug. "That you did." Emma said softly. "But you also feel remorse for it. You feel pain and you carry that pain with you every day. I don't justify your actions, but I understand them and I know that he is now proud of you and what you have achieved." _

_Emma felt Regina grab her tighter after those words, and for a while the two of them forgot about their lesson and enjoyed the feeling of being close to each other._

_(End of Flashback)_

"I'm sorry." Emma said apologetically. "I'm sorry I took your worries lightly."

Regina kissed her neck softly and hummed. "Do not worry Emma, I did not explain myself much either."

"Nevertheless, you must know how much I trust you Gina. I trust you with my soul."

Regina smiled softly. "As I do with mine."

Emma separated herself a little from Regina so she could look at the brunette's face. "Snow told me you knew about Mephisto from your time in the Enchanted Forest."

Regina nodded. "Before Snow brought it to my attention I had heard some rumors about a man who was creating unhappiness."

"You mean bringing..." Emma corrected Regina.

"No, I meant creating because he used magic to do so." Regina said softly. "He used his magic to kill and leave places under a curse of unhappiness. And, although I became Queen of a kingdom I did not want, I still refused to leave its citizens unprotected."

Emma smirked. "Of course you wouldn't"

Regina scolded her softly. "And after sending troops to capture him I realized that this was a battle that was not going to be won by force. I had to negotiate and give the man something he wanted so he would leave."

"You met him?" Emma asked scare.

"I was naive and thought I could just bully him in exchange for a promise to leave my kingdom alone. Turns out that was a big mistake.

(Beginning of Flashback)

_Queen Regina looked from her throne down at the man with baggy clothes who had been brought over by his guards. _

_"Are you Mephisto?" Regina asked neutrally. _

_The man smirked and nodded. _

_"If I were you I would wipe that smile away from your face." she threatened him. "I have heard tales of your 'doings' and let me tell you that they are quite punishable." _

_The man just kept staring at her mockingly. _

_"Why are you here in my kingdom?" she asked angrily. _

_"Because I wanted to see you." the man said while laughing. "I wanted to meet the cold but yet fair Queen Regina." _

_"Well, you succeeded. Although your way of doing so was futile since you will die soon." _

_"And I think you underestimate me. No one can kill me." _

_"Every man can die." she said while smiling evilly. "And let me assure you, you will." _

_"No I won't." he promised. "Because I have placed a curse under your land. A curse that I will only break if you let me go." _

_"You are bluffing."_

_"I assure you I'm not. Just in a few seconds one of your guards will enter the room and tell you about the mass suicides occurring as we speak." _

_As soon as Mephisto finished his threat a guard entered. _

_"Queen Regina, the people..." he said shocked. "They are killing themselves. They argue that they are unhappy and cannot live anymore before finishing their own lives."_

_Regina looked at the man who was laughing maniacally. She had no choice. _

_"What do you wish for in exchange for you to lift your curse." _

_"I want you to let me go." he said smugly. _

_"With all that power I would have assumed you were able to free yourself."_

_"While enacting a curse I lose my magic, which is why I can also end the curse. _

_Regina clenched her teeth but still nodded. Mephisto moved his hands and all the previous screaming ended. _

_"It's done." he said. "Now honor your promise." _

_Regina motioned for a man to take the shackles away. As soon as Mephisto was free he smiled again. _

_"Don't think this is over dear. What happened today only occurred because I wanted to meet you. Now that I have things will get real fun." he finished while making his way out of the palace. _

_"Why did you allow yourself to be captured?" Regina asked with curiosity. "You could have asked for an audience with me instead." _

_The man turned around. "I want you to know what I'm capable off. I know you also have magic, my Queen, and I know you are the Dark One's apprentice. But remember my words well: We will meet again, you and I, in a new land. And, in this new land you will have much more to lose. You will have what your heart has been craving since that fatal night at your estate's stables: Love. _

_"I will never love again." Regina answered automatically. _

_"Oh, you will." the man promised smugly. "You will have the most powerful love of all known realms. And once you realize you have this love I will take it away from you just because I hate to see people be happy." he sneered. _

_Regina looked at him with hate, and with a flick of her hands the man disappeared in a purple haze of smoke._

_(End of Flashback)_

"He knew about us?" Emma asked surprised and scared.

"At the time I thought that it was impossible. I thought that after Daniel I would never be able to love again." Regina said sadly. "And when I met you and realized I could I was so wrapped up in my feelings that I forgot about his threat until Henry mentioned his name."

Emma nodded in understanding and hugged Regina tightly. "I will not let him take away from you your happiness. I promise you." she said with determination.

Regina closed her eyes in surrender. "I do not know what would become of me if I lost Henry or you. I think that would destroy my heart forever." she finished sadly.

"You will never have to know because we won't let it happen." Emma promised again. "Trust me, we will find this creature and finish him."

"I love you Emma, with all my heart and soul." Regina whispered fervently.

Emma smiled softly and kissed Regina's cheek. "And I love you too. With all my might."


	8. Awkward Family Tree

**Author's note: **It took a little longer but here is a new chapter! As I get more chapters done I will go back and correct some grammar mistakes and typos that I found on previous chapters. As I said previously, no Beta to help. So bear with me and keep reviewing. I'm happy to see that I keep getting more and more followers, but since I don't get many reviews I don't know how you are liking the story. I will assume that you are liking it because of the number of followers and favorites that I get. Kudos and enjoy the chapter! :)

* * *

Regina saw how nervous Snow was when she entered her house and went straight for her arms. Instead of her usual feelings of hate she suddenly felt a desire to do right for her stepdaughter, especially since she was the reason why she now had Emma. And apparently she was not the only surprised by Snow's actions because everyone else in the room froze in anticipation to what could happen. Charming made his way a few seconds later with the stroller and Neal sleeping peacefully on it. Regina had forgotten about the baby because of the nervousness she was having. She felt sorry for complicating things for them, but she also knew that this conversation couldn't wait any longer.

"He is back..." Snow whispered scared. "When I was an outcast I went around villages and heard horrible stories about the things that he did. How he specifically searched for the people that were the happiest and tore them apart. How he hurt the children because of their innocence and took advantage of the young women..." Snow rambled, making Emma and Henry terrified of what that man was capable off.

"I know Snow." Regina tried to calm her while patting her back.

"And now that we are all getting our happy endings he is coming to take them away!"

"I promise you Snow I will not let him take away your happy ending." Regina promised Snow. "You are right, you deserve to be happy and I will do my hardest to make sure no one takes that away from you." she also addressed Charming who had come back from the guest room where he had left Neal sleeping peacefully.

Emma looked at Regina with more love than she thought was possible after seeing her interact with Snow. The feud between the two of them was truly eradicated and it was clear that they cared deeply about each other. She couldn't help but notice also that Snow truly loved Regina as a big sister and that she cherished that relationship with all her might. From watching the shocked faces of his father and Henry she realized that only she knew about the complexity of the relationship between the two women that she loved the most.

"And we will also help you to keep yours." Snow promised while taking Regina's hands. "You have suffered enough and I truly want you to be happy."

Regina felt tears falling from her eyes. She couldn't fathom the thought that she was crying and holding in her arms the woman that she had spent so much time hating and trying to destroy. Now, now she was consoling her and being consoled by her. It was truly remarkable to realize how much love had changed her. First it was with Henry and her desire to be good enough for him. And now it was with Emma, her savior who had managed to change her dark heart and awaken all the hidden feelings that it had inside of her. She turned her gaze towards Emma who was looking lovingly at the scene and that made Regina's heart flutter. _Seriously, I can't be that ridiculous. I was the Evil Queen, _she said to herself in an attempt to control her emotions better.

"I love you so much." Emma mouthed to her, which made her smile deeply and blush. _Yes, I can be that ridiculous. _

"And I you." Regina mouthed back before blowing a kiss that Emma pretended to catch and put on her own lips.

Henry had enough with all the dovey and loving that was moving around the room. "Soooo." he said with a cough. "Are we going to have this super secret meeting or should grandpa and I join you on the family dovey?" he smirked.

Regina scolded him softly while cupping Snow's cheek and kissing it softly in reassurance, fact that made Snow tear up again and keep clinging to Regina. Emma laughed a little at her mom's possessiveness and went to save her girlfriend from her mom.

"Seriously mom, you are gonna make Regina blue with all the strength you are using to hold her."

Snow apologized softly and looked at Regina while blushing. "I'm sorry." she repeated. "It's just that I truly loved Regina when I was a child. She was the big sister I never had."

Regina smiled softly and grabbed her hand again. "I know I wasn't the warmest person, but I cared, and continued caring about you. Even when I tried to kill you." Regina said embarrassed. "I was incapable of doing so because of what I felt. It was conflicting." she finished quietly.

Snow laughed loudly, making the four other people in the room look at her as if she was out of her mind. "I knew that!" she smirked while smiling. "I mean, after all the times that you managed to capture me and instead of just killing me you went for the evil monologue..."

Henry laughed at this. "She did monologues?" Regina feigned resentment towards them but laughed loudly with him. "That is so cliché mom! Everyone knows that the heroes manage to escape during the monologue!"

"I did manage to get away from some situations during a monologue." Charming mused to himself. "Never really thought about it before though."

"Of course you didn't. I bet you thought it was all because of the natural order of things that the main heroes cannot die." Regina sassed.

Emma smirked a little at her girlfriend's sassiness. She really loved Regina for it and for trying to spur her parents just like a normal couple would do.

"Certainly not scared of gaining the approval of the parents." Emma whispered to Regina mockingly.

"Well, I think that we are beyond their approval darling. Your parents are just so them that the moment they realized we share True Love it was the moment they accepted me." Regina said. "I know they can be a lot of things, but what they will never do is stop True Love from happening."

"If I didn't know you better I would say you admire them." Henry got in the middle of the discussion like he had been included the whole time.

"Well, I do admire your _grandparents." _Regina smirked. "They are very tenacious in what they want."

"You know Regina, because of your position as Queen you would be Emma's step-grandmother and Henry's great-step-grandmother too." Charming smirked back, which made Regina flinch.

"So you are my mom _and _my great-grandmother?" Henry asked shocked. "And basically your girlfriend is your step-grandmother." he mused to Emma who just hid under Regina's shoulder in embarrassment.

"When you put it like that it does sound creepy as hell." Emma admitted. "But we can all agree that Snow and Regina were more sisters than mother and daughter."

Snow laughed. "Well, not legally. She is still my stepmother."

"Anyway." Regina said clearly embarrassed. "We should focus on the matter that brought us here in the first place."

Everyone looked at each other in clear embarrassment for allowing themselves to relax during such a stressful situation for the safety of the town. They knew that Mephisto making it to Storybrooke meant that he was capable of traveling between realms, and last thing they knew there were no more hats or magic beans around.

"Tell Snow and Charming what you saw at the docks." Emma told Henry seriously.

"Docks where you were prohibited to go." Regina hissed softly.

"Well, not much choice with the two of you going to third base and all." Henry said, immediately making Emma and Regina blush in embarrassment.

"Kid!" Emma smacked him in the back of the head. "What the hell?"

"It's true!" Henry continued to say despite knowing that his moms were beyond embarrassed. "When I saw you two disappear through the stairs I knew." he even winked at Regina who looked away from him.

"This is just so weird." Emma said again while hiding her face. "No privacy at all in this family."

"Well, at least Henry is more open than you darling." Snow said while smirking a little. "It does seem he reacted better than you when the two of you discovered Charming and I."

"My son saw his grandmother and grandfather in a compromising position?" Regina almost yelled with shock.

Snow smirked again while keeping her head high while Charming looked down in embarrassment. _Well, at least he has the decency of looking down, _Regina mused to herself.

"So that's what it was." Henry said to himself. "Anyway, yuck." he said while closing his eyes and trying to relieve his mind from the image of his grandparents together. "I saw Gold appear on the docks with another man. This man was holding a dagger and arguing with Gold about his control towards him." Henry rambled, immediately quieting the adults.

"That man, you said he mentioned his name." Regina said softly.

Henry nodded. "He said his name was Mephisto."

Snow flinched and grabbed Charming's hand.

"I don't understand." Charming said. "How come I never heard of him?"

"Besides from the fact that you grew in a farm?" Regina sassed clearly still hurt with his comment concerning her age.

"Well, he was a myth of some sorts." Snow answered him. "And a tale that parents told their children so they wouldn't do anything naughty. I never did see the man."

"I did." Regina said to Snow softly. "Shortly after you told me about him my guards captured him. At the time I thought nothing of it but good fortune, but now I realize that it was all orchestrated by him."

"You mean he planned on you two meeting?"

"I believe so." Regina fidgeted a little. "He clearly has the gift of the seers."

"Ok, back up. What the hell is the gift of the seers?" Emma asked.

"Duhh Ma, a seer can see the future." Henry answered while smirking. "Gold stole that gift from a witch."

"Which is why he was able to see Emma breaking your curse." Charming finished his line of thought.

"Yes... the imp used his stolen gift for his own gain like he usually does." Regina said angrily. "Which makes me wonder how he was unable to see Mephisto stealing his dagger."

"Well, Mephisto is the devil himself, which means he can control the darkness and the dark creatures?" Emma asked.

"That is true." Regina conceded. "But still, the perk of being the Dark One is that only the person that owns the dagger can control you. That is the price for that much power."

"Which explains why Gold kept it hidden." Snow said.

"But Belle had it!" Charming screamed. "You gave it to her." he pointed at Regina who nodded.

"I did. So that she could control him and stop him from doing anything evil to Zelena."

"Well, that went well." Emma mused mostly to herself. "So the creature took the dagger from Belle, who is an easier target." Emma said. "But she hasn't said it was missing. In fact, she showed it to us."

"It is clearly a fake." Regina said softly. "Wouldn't surprise me the imp planned to give it to her so she could think he gave her the power."

"Really, how did Rumple manage to get such a good and pure soul like that to love him?" Emma asked in awe.

"Just like you darling that believes in the goodness of my heart, Belle wants to believe she can save the man behind the beast." Regina said softly.

Emma looked knowingly at her. "I already told you Regina. It wasn't hard to love you because you love with all of your soul."

"Emma is right." Snow added. "One cannot say that the Evil Queen does not love. She loves deeply, and the people that are worthy of her love can be assured of her fierce loyalty."

Regina smiled in appreciation and cleared her throat. "We clearly need to find more information about Mephisto and what he is capable of. We cannot base ourselves on tales from the Enchanted Forest."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I think we will need to recruit Belle to help us." Snow said. "Although I don't know if she will be willing. I mean, we are going after her husband."

"Yes, but we can save him." Charming said in full king mode.

"I think we should worry about saving ourselves from him and Mephisto before saving him." Emma said quietly.

Regina nodded. "If you think I'm powerful, the combined efforts of the imp and Mephisto make my magic be seen as cheap magician tricks. After all, he taught me everything I know."

"You were the Dark One's apprentice?" Emma asked in shock.

Regina nodded. "If you knew how much that imp is responsible for the events that led us here, you would hate him just as I do."

"He tricked you, didn't he?"

Regina nodded and lowered her gaze. "I was young, unhappy, and he promised me what even magic cannot bring back."

"Daniel." Snow whispered. "He made you think magic would bring him back."

"When I realized that it was impossible I just lost myself. I know he planned it. Jefferson and Whale told me." Regina said angrily. "My whole life was planned and controlled by that imp and I let myself fall under his grasp."

Everyone looked down and understood Regina's pain at being a pawn in a bigger and meaner scheme. They all knew that Gold created the curse so he could come to this land and find Baelfire. He didn't care about the price and used all the people in Storybrooke towards his goal. Emma hated the man from the start, but seeing how much pain he had brought Regina made her hate him ever more. To hell with him and saving him, he didn't deserve it at all.

"I know what you are thinking." Charming said to Emma while Regina and Snow were distracted. "And I know your heart is telling you to leave Gold to his own fate."

"He deserves it! He manipulated all of us for his own selfish goals. He is a coward." Emma spat, which brought all the attention on her. "Why should we help him when he has done nothing but bring us sorrow?"

"Because that is what good people do." Regina said softly. "That is what heroes do, and darling, you are the savior."

"And he is my grandfather too." Henry said softly. It was weird for him to see his Ma not wanting to do the right thing and the savior that they all knew she was.

"I didn't want to be the savior." Emma said softly to Regina but everyone still heard her.

"And I didn't want to be the Evil Queen, but alas, that was the path we were meant to take."

"It's not fair."

"And who said life was fair my love?" Regina scolded her sweetly. "Life is not only about happy endings. I learned it the hard way. But we can fight for ours."

"We can?" Emma asked hopefully, looking around the room at her family.

"Yes. You started to do it the moment you chose to believe magic was real and have continued to do so till this very moment."

"I am tired." Emma said. "I am tired of being the savior all the time."

"That's why you have the Evil Queen by your side." Regina smirked. "Even the savior needs some saving from time to time."

Emma smiled and kissed her chastely. "You are truly amazing."

"Only for you." Regina answered sweetly. "And although it pains me to say it, the Charmings are right. We need to help that imp because Belle loves him."

Emma nodded. "So it's simple then. We get the dagger back from Mephisto, manage to destroy him and keep Gold safe in the process."

Snow and Charming laughed at Emma's sarcasm. Clearly spending too much time with Regina was making their daughter pick some manners from her. But they were also happy at realizing how much Regina guided and helped their daughter. The Emma that they knew before would have just grabbed her things and skip town. This Emma on the other hand was clearly scared, but so rooted because of her family that she was capable of staying if it meant their happiness. This Emma was less selfish, more open and raw than the other Emma. They were shocked at realizing how complex their daughter was and how her past away from them had shaped her into the woman she is now. They focused on Regina and saw how lovingly she looked at Emma and held her hand while tracing patterns on it absently. The woman looked happy and free, the two noticed. They had never seen her look this peaceful with her life and what she did in the past. _And it all comes from Henry's and Emma's acceptance and forgiveness, _the two realized.

"They complement each other." Snow whispered to his husband. "Regina's darkness is Emma's way of understanding her own path of darkness while Emma's lightness is the guide for Regina's redemption road."

Charming nodded in agreement. "They truly are soulmates. You know, at first I didn't want to believe it because of what Regina did to us. But knowing how much of it happened for reasons and motives that were out of her grasp now makes me feel sad for her. Can you imagine me saying that I'm sad for all the suffering that the Evil Queen went through?"

"Not the Evil Queen." Snow corrected him. "The suffering Regina went through."

"Operation Hellfire is underway!" Henry said excitedly, making Snow and Charming flinch back from their little moment. Emma and Regina looked at him with crazy eyes at the same time, clearly having been distracted by the other until they heard him speak about his involvement in the hunting of Mephisto.

"Henry." Emma scolded him. "This is very serious. We don't know what we are facing, but we do know how much you mean to us and what it would do to us if you found yourself in harm's way."

The three adults in the room nodded in agreement.

"You are too valuable for us Henry. We cannot lose you." Regina said quietly. "Which is why you won't go anywhere without the company of one of us."

"But..." Henry started to complain. "But I want to help."

"And you can help by keeping yourself safe." Snow scolded him too.

"I want to be a hero too. I want to save the town." he chided while standing up angrily. "Just because I don't have any powers than can help, or because I don't know how to shoot an arrow or hold a sword that doesn't make me useless. I was the one that brought you all here! I believed before any of you did."

"Yes you did." Emma said angrily. "But because of all the reasons you mentioned before, and the fact that we are your mothers and you must do what we tell you, you cannot put yourself in harm's way."

"So you are admitting that I am the weakest link?"

"I am admitting that you are the one with the least possibility of defending yourself."

"Emma." Regina tried to keep Emma calmed but got a resounding no from her girlfriend. She supported Emma's firmness at making Henry realized that this wasn't a game anymore. Too many times in the past because of his stubbornness he fell in harm's way.

"You will get your chance Henry." Charming said while petting his hair, trying to calm the tension between his grandson and daughter. "But a hero also knows when to spring into action and when to lay low."

"You are just saying in fancy words that I have to do like a coward and hide." Henry spat while getting up and bolting away to his room.

Snow and Charming smiled in understanding at the two mothers, and deciding that the rest of the discussion could wait until morning, the two of them made their way for the guest room where they left Neal sleeping. After making sure they grabbed everything they said goodbye and went back home, leaving Regina and Emma alone in the living room.

Emma huffed in anger but lowered herself on the couch, clearly exhausted because of the heaviness of the discussion and what it meant. She had always encouraged Henry into facing his fears and doing right, basically telling him that he was invincible. The kid believed her too much, trusted her too much into saving him that he had no self-safety regard and that made her become more angry with herself.

Regina felt Emma's anger, and quickly controlling her magic she took Emma's hand with the intention of doing the same for her.

_I cannot be the savior he expects me to be. I'm too afraid of him being hurt, _Emma thought while looking at their enclosed hands.

_I understand how hard it was for you, _Regina answered her.

The two women looked at each other in clear shock.

_"You can hear my thoughts?" _Emma asked.

"_I read of this gift before." _Regina mused. "_The gift of telepathy." _

_"That is kinda cool." _Emma laughed. "_I'm sorry I was so tough on the kid."_

_"You had to be Emma. You are right. He expects too much from us, trusts us too much with his safety that he has grown into not realizing the normal dangers of life." _

_"I always tell him to face his fears, to fight his battles." _Emma thought sadly. "_And now we are telling him to basically hide. He is right, I am a hypocrite." _

_"No you are not." _Regina confirmed by grabbing Emma's chin. "_To him you are not only the savior, but you are his mother too. That means that concern for his safety means more to you than anyone else's" _

_"I know, but that doesn't make it any harder. I feel like the bad guy." _

_"I also know that feeling." _Regina remembered somberly.

**_"Why do you want to keep me away from her?!" Henry screamed at her in anger. "She is also my mother." _**

**_"Henry, we don't know her. How can I trust a stranger with the safety of the person I love the most?" Regina begged him to understand. _**

**_"You don't have to say that. I know you only pretend." he spat at her. _**

**_"Pretend to care for you? You know that is not true." _**

**_"No, pretend to love me. You are the Evil Queen, you cannot love." he said angrily while moving up the stairs and heading into the room. "I hate you." _**

**_Regina stopped following him the moment he said those words to her, and while holding her tears at bay she opened the door to his room. _**

**_"Even if you do, I am your mother and you will do as I say Henry Mills. Unless you pass it by me before, you will not meet with Miss Swan. Is that understood?" she managed to say without crying. How much it hurt her to be firm with him when the only thing she craved was to lie in his arms and be loved by him. _**

**_Henry ignored her and lowered himself to the bed in a clear statement that he was not going to talk anymore. _**

**_"Henry, did I make myself clear?" Regina said with a threatening voice. _**

**_"I understand." she heard him whisper. _**

_"Regina." _Emma grabbed the woman's hand and squeezed it tightly. "_I never really knew how bad he treated you. I'm sorry." _

"_It wasn't your fault. Henry has always been a strong-willed individual, and when he sets his mind on something he defends it until the end. Just like when he has keen on seeing me as the Evil Queen." _Regina thought sadly.

"_Yes, but I never told him that it was wrong. And neither did you." _Emma realized. "_I think we are to blame for it too. We have never set any boundaries with him." _

_"Which is why when he doesn't agree he runs. He is not truly scared of us." _Regina realized too. "_Because of our fear of losing him we have been too tolerant towards his disrespect." _

_"And today we stopped it from happening again." _

"_Now we have to make sure he doesn't run." _

_"Which knowing him he will try to do as soon as we are distracted." _Emma huffed in annoyance.

"_Well, good thing I never make the same mistake twice." _

Emma smirked at her.

"_Concerning the education of Henry." _Regina added in fake annoyance.

"_I have a tracking app on his phone." _Emma said innocently. "_Installed it in New York and forgot he still had it." _

_"Well, he may remember he has it so I will go the magic way and put a tracking spell on him that will let us know if he leaves the house without our knowledge." _Regina smirked.

"Isn't that an invasion to his privacy though?" Emma asked out-loud.

"Well dear, we are his mothers and he is 15. In moments of crisis he has no privacy." Regina said darkly.

"Poor Henry." Emma gulped.


	9. The Two Sides of a Coin: Selfish

**Author's note: **Yei for a fast update! New chapter peeps! This chapter will only explore the two sides of the same coin, and based on the title of the chapter, it is obvious that the topic discussed will be selfishness. I loved the comments that I got from the previous chapter about Henry's attitude and I totally agree with you. He has been getting away with so many things... Perhaps others will realize this too? Kudos and keep reviewing because things are definitely moving forward!

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_Why did they have to see him as a liability? _Henry asked himself angrily. Time and time again he had proven his value to them, how he was able to help them in moments of crisis. Did he get in danger during those times? Yes he did, but that's what it means to be a hero. Heroes get in danger all the time in order to save others. And he wasn't only a hero, he was a prince also. He could be king one day if they went back to the Enchanted Forest. He knew his family had given up on the prospect of going back, especially after realizing the price they would have to pay for travel between realms. But he didn't want to be in this world where nothing happened. He wanted adventures, he wanted to fight evil and vanquish it just like his family did. He wanted to learn magic, to use it just like his mothers did. He wanted to find a person to fight for, a person to try to be the best. He wanted to have what his mothers had with someone else. He knew he was young, so of course not right now, but he craved that kind of union, that kind of unconditional love and loyalty from someone that didn't have a responsibility towards him. Not that he didn't appreciate the love her mothers had for him, because he valued it with his whole soul. But he wanted to also be loved by someone who wasn't obliged to love him. He didn't have a lot of friends, and the times he had tried to make some those friends used him for their own gain. He knew that in this world it was going to be impossible for him to find someone like that. There was only one choice then to make. He had to make them go back to the enchanted forest. He knew that asking the Blue Fairy, or any of his family friends meant them discovering his plan and that was simply not possible. Knowing his mothers they would be scared of attempting to go back. _Silly them, _he mused to himself, _going back would be the best thing for all of us. We would all be royalty and live together at a palace! _Now that his Mom and Snow made up, the two kingdoms would be united and the happy endings would truly come back for all of the fairy tale characters. _Yes, _he convinced himself one more time, _I'm doing the right thing by keeping this a secret from them. _But then again, a small part of him, his consciousness most precisely and his magic kept telling him that maybe he was mistaken, that maybe this was a bad idea and that the people who would be hurt by his decision were going to be millions. Gulping softly he opened his door and made his way to the stairs, expecting to see the family still discussing the matter. What he found was his mothers looking at each other lovingly. It seemed that they were just staring quietly at each other, Henry not knowing about the telepathy that they now shared. At one moment the two women closed their eyes and Henry saw a gray mist appearing between them, the flash of a younger him looking angrily at his mom and yelling to her. Henry gulped and looked to the floor guiltily. He had forgotten about those days when he treated his mom so badly, so unfairly and despite it still managed to get her unconditional love and support. _I was selfish, _Henry scolded himself, _I was so desperate to be proven right that I hurt her willingly, which is what I am trying to do now, _he realized and gasped. Just a few moments before he was willing to again go against his mother's desires and try to do things behind their back. It wasn't fair to them, and his determination of going to the docks right at that second was eliminated, instead smiling sadly at the way Emma grabbed her Mom's hand and squeezed it in understanding. Even if the need to be right was hurting him, he knew he had to do right and help her mother's get the happy ending they deserved. And basing himself on what he just saw, that happiness was happening right now in the small town of Storybrooke, Maine.

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_It can't be that easy, _he mused to himself with delight. He had been a little worried when he saw the whole Charming family meeting up and discussing their plans. He didn't take into consideration them knowing about his presence in Storybrooke so soon, and while he did travel from realm to realm with relative easiness, the power it took to do so drained him for a couple of days. Regina knew how he looked like, which was a disadvantage that he didn't consider when he bluntly allowed himself to be captured. Things in Boston were going according to plan, but in order to make his plan work he needed to separate Emma and Regina from each other. The vision that told him of his destruction had the two of them together in it, fighting hand in hand. It was primordial for his success to separate this women, and knowing that they were soulmates it was going to be harder to create a relationship separation. He had convinced those moronic men, Robin Hood and Hook, to stand in the way, but instead they finally brought them together.

**_"Regina deserves to be happy." a drunk Robin Hood told him from the bar. "And I am not the man that can give her that happiness." _**

**_"Of course you are." he told him while asking another drink for him. This time he chalked his fingers and a white powder fell on it. "You just need to keep fighting for her. You know how women of regal status are: They like men to beg."_**

**_"Regina is not like that, not anymore." he said sadly while grabbing the drink. "She was wonderful to Roland and to me. I couldn't defend her and now that I realize I cannot be with her I realize I want to." he gulped the drink in one shot and closed his eyes. _**

**_"Well, in my opinion. I think you should just get what you want and stop acting like an honorable man. You deserve to get the things you want." he said evilly. "And what do you want right now?" _**

**_"I want Regina." Robin said angrily. "Damn it I want her." _**

**_"And what about your family? Don't you think you can have it all? You can have the best of both worlds: Your family and Regina. She doesn't care really, she is also evil. She is just trying to do good."_**

**_"She is trying to be good so she is accepted." Robin kept trying to convince himself. "But deep inside she also wants me." _**

**_"Yes she does!" he screamed with delight. _**

It was so easy to manipulate broken men that had evil in their hearts but tried to hide it. What that chalk did was eliminate doubts and hesitations and show true and raw feelings. It was ironic to see how selfish and self centered the man truly was. _And to think he is seen as one of the good guys, _he laughed loudly in clear enjoyment. _I wonder what people would think if they saw the true darkness of his heart, the true selfishness behind his attempts at helping others. _Still, it worked for him and he was not going to complain about it. Hook on the other side had been way easier. The man was naturally more selfish and self-centered than Robin Hood, and without his chalk it had been relatively easy to convince him in continuing his attempts to woo Emma Swan. Of course the man was such an egotistical idiot that instead of helping his cause he fucked things up for himself and the cause. _He had surrounded himself with idiots that were useless, _he realized while raising the dagger of the Dark One. But this new development of the child actually helped his cause. He could use his unhappiness to move things faster. He knew the child was a natural rebel and a know-it-all that always wanted to be right. _His selfishness will be their undoing, _he smirked evilly.

"Dark One, I summon thee." he said loudly and excitedly.

Rumplestiltskin appeared in front of magic in a darkish-red cloud of magic, his disgust at being called clearly present.

"I need you to do something for me." he told the creature. "I need you to tell Henry about travelling between realms."

"And why would Henry ask for my help?" he spat. "He doesn't trust me."

"But he trusts his grandfather, which is why in two days he will come to the docks to find you. You will be waiting for him and you will tell him what you know. It is primordial he understands the price of the magic needed."

"You want to take us back to the Enchanted Forest." Rumple said quietly. "Because you realized that those two idiots you tried to charm were not good enough to destroy the Savior's and Evil Queen's True Love." he said while laughing manically. "You poor old soul. That's your weakness."

"I don't have a weakness." he spat angrily. "I am Mephistopheles, the devil himself, ruler of the underworld and responsible of all sorrows."

"And yet you will be defeated by the power of True Love." Rumple added evilly. "Your vision, no matter how much you try to manipulate it, will always show the same result: Good vanquishing you."

"I am taking care of that." he laughed. "Which is why you will go to Boston and procure a heart for me. He is a low priest that is a member of one of the oldest families in the magical world."

"I have seen this too. And that other True Love you will also find it is impossible to break."

"Anything can break." Mephisto said evilly. "That's how I broke. Even the purest souls, like young Henry Mills, can be selfish and put themselves before others." he smirked. "Now go and fetch me that hard so you can make it back and talk to Henry." he ordered him while raising the dagger.

Rumplestiltskin nodded with hatred and with a flicker of his hands disappeared. Mephisto kept walking around the dark docks, hiding himself from curious eyes. His real plan was underway and no one was going to stop him. He was going to separate those women no matter the cost.

* * *

"So then we will be able to feel anything as soon as he leaves the house without adult company?" Emma asked again for the fifth time.

After having that telepathic heart to heart with Regina she realized how much work they had to get done with Henry. The kid was wonderful, don't get her wrong, but he was also as stubborn as her mother and willing to risk himself just like she was. That combination was certainly not good to have, especially at such a short age. That, and also the fact that Regina deserved way better than an hormonal teenager who went back to telling her she was the Evil Queen when he wanted something from her. She was going to help Regina educate Henry, and the both of them understood that they had to show an united front if they truly wanted to get results.

"Yes darling." Regina told her patiently. "It will work like an electric shock passing through your body. A soft electric shock." she added when she saw Emma's scared face.

"Ok, I can manage that." Emma answered softly.

Regina laughed. "You are such a baby."

"I am your baby." Emma tried to say seductively but then flinched. "Ok, that was a lame attempt at trying to be flirty."

"A little." Regina conceded while laughing loudly. "But nonetheless I found the attempt endearing." she purred while getting closer to Emma.

"You did?" Emma husked while opening her arms so Regina could place herself on top. "Then I think I should do it more often."

"What you should do now is stop talking and kiss me." Regina threatened lightly. "You might get lucky."

Instead of answering went straight to doing what Regina suggested and smirked when she heard her moan softly in appreciation. They kissed for minutes, sucking each other lips and nibbling them lightly while their hips made soft jerks against each other.

"I think." Emma said after Regina moaned loudly. "That I _will _get lucky."

"Just shut up and keep kissing me Emma." Regina spat and captured her lips again, signing contently at the feeling of her lover squirming and enjoying herself under her.

Regina felt her body hum with excitement. The two of them had spent the rest of the night worrying and thinking about ways to get Henry to cooperate fully with them while also keeping their authority as mothers. They hated to be so firm with him, but they also understood that it was the only way in which his safety could be a little assured. She knew safety was a hard thing to secure, and based on their background that encouraged her to suspect there was no thing as security when it came to their family. But still, it would help all of them if Henry became more mindful of his decisions and how those decisions not only affect him, but the rest of the family as well. Being loved and cherished by many led to him becoming a little selfish and self-focused when he felt he was right. This was a bad trait to have, and she knew it because she also had that Achilles Heel.

Emma on the other hand was desperate to feel Regina's naked flesh against her own. They had been interrupted, as they usually were, by dangerous creatures and life. And honestly she was growing sick of it. She wanted to get laid and have amazing sex with Regina for God's sake. And hell, if someone even came and stopped them now she was going to murder that person right on the spot.

"Regina..." Emma begged while tugging her shirt in a clear sign that it had to come off. "Please."

Regina felt Emma's knuckles graze her fingers and she immediately saw goosebumps on her skin. She also needed to feel Emma, and knowing her natural tendency towards selfishness from time to time, she was going to have Emma right now no matter what. So, after knowing that Emma was on the same page she opened her arms and took out her shirt in a matter of seconds. Emma hummed in appreciation at seeing that Regina was not wearing a bra, instantly putting her hands over her breast and squeezing softly.

"Oh yes." Regina moaned when she felt Emma lower her mouth and suck her left breast while moving her fingers around her right.

She had to do something in appreciation for the wonderful treatment she was receiving, and with a flicker of her hand she left both of them completely naked, which earned her a hard exhale of excitement from Emma.

"That is so hot." Emma husked while kissing her face. "Can you teach me to do that?"

Regina nodded in agreement when she found her mouth distracted with Emma's. It was truly powerful the way she felt around her, the desire that pooled between them too overwhelming. Maybe that's how it was for True Love's, that necessity to fill the other while being filled. She wasn't used to caring about her partner's happiness before her own, but with Emma it was the extreme opposite. She was sometimes hesitant in her touch, scared of hurting or doing something that might be uncomfortable for her girlfriend. To see that behavior made her again realize how much she loved this woman and how much she wanted to please her in every way.

With that in mind Regina started to grind her hips against Emma's, a rocking motion that was answered immediately and which made Emma's head fall back in total bliss. Regina took advantage and lowered her lips on Emma's neck, sucking and biting softly so that a mark would be left. She knew it was careless but she wanted the world to know Emma was taken. She wanted them to know that Emma was hers, and basing herself on the noises that came from her girlfriend, the blonde woman didn't mind at all.

Emma was on the point of total bliss, Regina's lips on her neck biting and marking her in ways that excited her more and more. She had always been territorial, and knowing that Regina felt that way with her made her moan in encouragement. Forgetting that Regina was making sure she was pleasured, and not being able to keep her hands on Regina's higher part for longer, Emma lowered her fingers and abruptly pushed one inside of Regina, who flinched at the intrusion but immediately moaned, rocking herself tightly against the single digit.

"Moreeee." Regina begged her and Emma complied, using another finger and feeling her lover stretch so the intrusion would be welcomed.

Regina felt herself panting in excitement, reaching the peak of the mountain in a surprising fast time. She should have been embarrassed, but watching the way Emma's lustful eyes were gazing at her with adoration and ownership made her just ignore it and push her own fingers inside.

Emma moaned at the sudden and violent entrance of Regina's fingers, immediately feeling herself stretch and accommodate them. She was turned on while watching Regina switch from rough to tender, and from fierce to lovable. It was truly an amazing combination, Emma herself being used to the roughness of life but yet craving a loving touch. It seemed that Regina knew her heart's deepest desires, and her body's carnal ones, based on how fast she was on the brink of oblivion.

"I'm so close Gina." Emma husked while getting Regina's lips and biting them.

"Me too. So so close." Regina answered, licking Emma's lips.

"Together." Emma asked and Regina nodded, the two women immediately using their thumb to brush their clit violently. It took a couple of seconds, but the moment Regina heard Emma's scream she felt her own orgasm hit her, and boy was it powerful.

The two women saw a white light come from their bodies, and instead of feeling one orgasm only, they realized that they were also feeling the one they had given to their lover, the exhaustion of such an amazing and earth shattering feeling taking its toll on both and leaving them exhausted beyond belief.

"That was amazing." Emma finally spoke after several minutes went by in total silence except for their panting. "I felt your orgasm too." she said in awe.

"Apparently there are many gifts that soulmates share." Regina said sarcastically but with a wide small on her lips. "I love you so much Emma."

Emma smiled brightly and managed, despite the tiredness and sleepiness she suddenly felt, to put herself on top of Regina and hug her. "I love you too. I have never felt so connected and in synch with someone before. It was like you knew my deepest desires and used them." she exclaimed again in total awe. "You are truly incredible Regina and I'm so lucky."

Regina smiled and felt some tears fall from her eyes, tears that were immediately kissed away by Emma. "I am the lucky one Emma. I adore you with my whole soul and only want your happiness."

"Well, maybe we can take a little nap?" Emma asked softly. "Apparently having two earth shattering orgasms does leave one without stamina."

Regina laughed and nodded, feeling herself fall asleep under the comfortable weight of Emma's body. "Then let's sleep." she said while peppering kisses to Emma's head until she heard the blonde take soft breaths.

Regina opened her eyes one last time and took another look at her girlfriend. She was truly magnificent, and after having experienced her moment of bliss she had blue light coming out of her skin softly. She knew it was Emma's magic trying to connect with hers. Raising her hand she saw the usual purple smoke blend in with the blue, immediately creating a soft violet combination. Regina smiled again at seeing how truly close the two were, and how their whole body unconsciously tried to find each other. _Well, now I'm so cliché that I find myself quoting the two idiots, _was the last thing that went through Regina's mind before falling asleep.

* * *

**PD: **So finally did it! Finally gave Emma and Regina their moment of bonding heheh ;) and with Henry's whole dilemma, it is far from over and all of us can know how temptation usually acts. Hopefully I will upload the next chapter during this weekend :)


	10. Operation Shop Crashers

**CHAPTER UPDATE: **So I forgot some things with this last update. Someone mentioned me that the italics weren't working with the telepathic conversations, so I just decided to leave them as italics no matter if it is in the present or as a flashback. And also I added the translations for the Spanish parts at the end of the chapter.

* * *

**Author's note: **New chapter peeps! I hope you like it. As stated previously, _telepathy is showed with cursive letters while **flashbacks are shown with bold cursive. **_

I got a review that asked if the white light from the previous chapter was a magical baby. I guess you will just have to keep reading so you find out :)

Also, I dislike Henry's selfishness from the first 2 seasons, which is why I wrote him as still being like that. But we can all agree that he is way nicer now and that he cares about his mothers' happiness.

* * *

Regina thought that it was going to be a while until she had to beg Belle for help, again. Turns out it wasn't so long, and right now she found herself, again, in the store with Emma and the two idiots. It is certainly a little annoying to ask the bookworm's help, but she also knows that Emma is right in saying that the more the merrier, no pun intended, she had also said. So when the two woke up from their wonderful slumber and found Henry still sleeping on his bed, the two women made their way to the Charming's place so they could discuss strategies.

**_"Regina and I talked last night." Emma blushed a little. "And the two of us agreed into letting Belle help us if she chooses to do so." _**

**_The Charmings looked delighted at their daughter's words. _**

**_"I knew you would see that it was the smartest choice." Charming said while smiling. _**

**_Regina's sarcasm was ready to strike. _**

_"Don't." _Emma told her with their telepathic bond_. "I know you want to, and I know they give way for it, but we need to play nice._**" **

_"Easy for you to say."_ Regina huffed in anger. _"But if I must I will try my hardest to behave." _

Emma grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. _"Thank you." _

_"For you mi vida, anything."_ Regina said sweetly_. _

**_"You speak Spanish too?" Emma asked loudly. Everyone turned to look at her trying to make sense of what she meant by that. _**

**_"My father taught me." Regina said wincing a little. "He was from a part of the kingdom that spoke Spanish." _**

**_"I remember some lessons." Snow said from somewhere in the room. "You tried to teach me." she said sweetly. _**

**_Regina nodded softly. "I didn't want my father's legacy to completely die, and I didn't expect to have any children..." she continued softly, clearly letting Emma know what she meant. _**

**_"But when you started to teach me your father was still alive." Snow kept on saying, earning a dark glance from Emma. _**

**_"Yes that is true. But my mother was so keen on eliminating any trace of my father's, and hence my heritage, that she prohibited the people from our village and after that, the rest of the kingdom from speaking the language." Regina barely managed to say without breaking down. _**

**_"Well, I think it's a wonderful language, and I would love to learn it." Emma said lovingly, which made Regina's heart sore with love. _**

**_"As I said again, for you mi vida anything." she answered again in adoration. _**

**_Snow looked at the exchange between the two of them and smiled happily: Her daughter had truly transformed Regina and made her the young woman that had saved her from her horse, the woman she fell in love with. _**

**_"So how are we going to do this? I mean, ask Belle about the dagger and all." Charming asked. _**

**_"We are not going to tell her anything about the dagger." Regina said, making three set of eyes look at her in complete shock. _**

**_"But I thought..." Emma started to say._**

**_"We are not going to tell her because we are going to show her." Regina smirked. "We are going to show her that she has a fake dagger." _**

**_"How?" Snow asked. _**

**_"By asking her to call Rumplestiltskin, of course." _**

**_"And when she tries to call him and sees that it doesn't work she will know that she has a fake and that the imp is really lost." Emma said loudly. _**

**_"Yes, that's the plan." Regina said, smiling when she noticed that Emma had also started to call him imp, probably from hearing her call him that. It was endearing. _**

**_"But what if she refuses to call him." Snow said suddenly. _**

**_"What do you mean refuses to call him? Wouldn't she want to find him?" Charming asked surprised. _**

**_"Not all couples are trying to find each other." Regina sassed, earning a small cackle from Emma. "What Snow means is that Belle is so invested in seeing the good in him that to force him to do something against his will goes against her firmest beliefs." _**

**_Emma nodded in agreement, being able to understand how Belle could feel but at the same time realizing things were different from her relationship with Regina. The imp had always acted for his own selfish goals, and had always been a coward. Regina had acted out based on her desire to be free and not controlled like she had been during her whole life. Regina had changed completely thanks to Henry, and although she did commit some mistakes (like trying to control Henry's feelings and partnering with her mother Cora), all of those mistakes were motivated by love. The problem of Regina had been that she didn't know how to love and show her love (not surprising because she had a fucked up childhood and then marriage with the King). So yes, the imp and Regina were completely different. He didn't want love, and the fact that he found was just collateral gain for him. What he did want was power no matter the cost and the persons standing in his way. Regina had learned to love, and forgive, and now only wanted to be happy with the people she loved. Emma smiled at the prospect of knowing that she was somehow responsible for Regina's change of heart (and also a winner because she got the love of her life to be with her). The imp on the other hand made her skin crawl and recoil in anger for all the pain that he inflicted on Regina. She had heard Regina's thoughts when people discussed him and she could feel the fear and hatred she felt for the man. That, and the fact that the imp was the one that led Regina down her path of darkness in order to come find his son, who he had betrayed when he could have gotten the opportunity to be happy. To help the imp was certainly painful for her, and although Regina told her that it was the right thing to do, she still believed he deserved to be controlled by another being. _**

**_"So then how can we convince her to calm him? Couldn't we just tell her that he is in danger?" Charming asked exasperated. _**

**_"She wouldn't believe us. She would think it's all a plan we have." Snow said knowingly. "Because I would suspect the same." _**

**_"We can drink a truth potion, that one we can't lie." Emma said suddenly, earning a low scoff from Regina. _**

**_"Didn't you hear the part where I said that even if she would believe us she would never use the dagger to begin with!" Regina complained loudly. "She believes she has the real one, and for Belle, to use it to call the imp, while apparently not wanting to be found, goes against his free will." _**

**_"But then how can we prove it to her that she has a fake if she is not ready to wield it?" Snow asked again. _**

**_"By using magic to destroy the dagger." Regina smirked. _**

**_"No magic can destroy the dagger, that is the price." Emma said dumbly, remembering the words from Henry's storybook. _**

**_"Precisely, which means that if the dagger does break..." Regina told Emma again, exasperated._**

_"You are earning yourself a night on the couch."_ Regina thought while looking at the blonde knowingly.

Emma opened her eyes in shock. _"But come on Regina, I have questions! These things are not obvious to me."_ she pouted in shame. _"I know I sound stupid most of the time anyway." _

**_Regina looked up and saw Emma looking down, which immediately made her scold herself for her lack of patience. Of course Emma didn't know about these things, in fact, she was partially responsible for her lack of knowledge. She had cast the curse that forced her stepdaughter to send her own daughter away. She gulped in shame_****. **

_"Forgive me Emma."_ Regina thought sadly. _"You are right, you haven't been taught anything about our land and I'm partially responsible for that.**" **_

**_Emma immediately approached Regina and hugged her, earning some weird glances from Snow and Charming who looked at them like they were plain crazy. She felt tears fall from Regina's eyes and land on her neck, which made Emma in turn cry too_****. **

**_"Regina, I forgave you a long time ago for the things the Evil Queen did." Emma said loudly while lifting her chin so they would be looking eye to eye. "And I still love you with all my soul." _**

**_"You are so wonderful to me." Regina choked on her words. "I really don't deserve you." _**

**_"Yes you do, because you deserve to be happy." Emma scolded her lightly. "It's time you convince yourself of this because all the people in this room agree with me, and I right?" she asked her parents who smiled and nodded. _**

**_"Although we don't know what made you react like this Regina." Snow started to say. "We do believe you deserve your happiness." _**

**_Regina nodded in appreciation. "Emma and I can hear each other's thoughts." she told them, earning a surprise gasp from them. "We just found out last night." she blushed a little at remembering what happened last night. _**

**_"Well, it is certainly a good thing to have in case you end up needing each other's help." Charming said while smiling softly. "And so you can always..." _**

**_"Don't even finish that sentence Charming or I will send you somewhere it takes you a LONG time to find us." she smirked and Emma and Snow cackled. _**

**_"Well, now that we agreed on that." Snow said. "Let's go back to what we were talking before. The dagger breaking..." _**

**_"Means that Belle will realize that it's a fake!" Charming said excitedly. _**

**_"I'm surrounded by idiots." Regina murmured to herself. _**

**_"But then, how are we going to make Belle take the dagger out? It's not like she has been flaunting it around town." Emma said somberly. _**

**_"We need to create a dangerous situation that would require the use of the dagger. Something not so severe as to hurt anyone, of course." Regina assured them. "But it won't be pretty." _**

**_"We will manage." Charming said. "We always do." _**

**_Snow nodded. "You just worry about making whatever you need to do and we will support you." _**

**_"Wait wait..." Emma interrupted them. "You will let some strange shit get loose around the store, hence the town, when you know that only the dagger can stop it?" _**

**_"Of course not darling." Regina said "I will be able to stop it, but alas, Belle doesn't need to know that, right?" _**

**_Emma smiled brightly at her girlfriend's conning ways. "You are a little evil woman." _**

Now that they were facing Belle, Regina realized that it was going to be a lot harder to make the sweet brunette betray the imp's trust and take the dagger out. She looked at Belle and saw in her eyes the same bright light that she behind Emma's when they were talking or mentioning her. _How lucky and fool can Rumplestiltskin really be, _Regina thought, _to have a woman that loves him like that and keep going through a dark path. _She was a little upset about Belle's heart being broken, but at the same time the imp had never done anything good for her, so why should she then be the considerate one.

While the Charmings were distracting Belle from her gaze, Regina moved around the store with Emma, using her magic to feel the artifact that they were looking for. At the same time she was teaching Emma how to feel the difference between magical beings and objects.

_"Some objects yield a lot of magical power." _Regina thought_. "Which can be confused for a magical being. But if you focus on the position of the source of power you can realize that the object remains stationary while the magical being will either move closer or farther away from you." _

_"I think I can feel it." _Emma answered back_. "Although it is scary to realize how many strong magical objects the imp has." _

_"All gotten through deals with different people." Regina spat. "One thing to b admired from the imp was that he always managed to get what he wanted." _

_"Not all." _Emma said._ "He only got Neal's love at the end of his life." _she whispered sadly._ "But even with that in mind he is still a planning and cunning man." _

_"Well, Rumplestiltskin is addicted to power darling. For him that power is freedom." _Regina said mockingly._ "And that freedom comes from his magic. Although with its limitations, because of the dagger, the imp still managed to become one of the most powerful and feared beings of all realms. Peasants and kings sought his help, sorcerers and witches feared him and his name was known in all the realms because during that time he could travel easily between them." _

_"To have that person against us is not so nice then." _Emma realized_. "Wait Regina, did you feel that? An object that is halfway powerful?" _

Regina smiled and nodded in encouragement._ "That is exactly what we are looking for mi vida." _

Emma smiled while moving towards the object_. "I love it when you call me that. Mi veda." _Emma butchered the Spanish word.

Regina laughed_. "Mi vida." _she concentrated on the pronunciation.

_"Spanish is hard!" _Emma complained._ "Snow tried to teach me some words earlier and I sucked big time. I hope that is ok." _she added when she saw Regina flinch a little._ "I just wanted to surprise you." _

This made Regina smile._ "Of course mi vida, you know that you could never do anything to upset me." _

_"Anything?" _Emma asked while smirking.

_"Anything." _Regina assured her_. "But don't confuse angriness with disappointment. I can still get angry with you" _she sassed.

_"Well I was thinking..." _Emma said. "_About our Spanish dilemma..." _she continued.

"_You were thinking..." _Regina kept on saying.

"_That if with our telepathy we can share everything, wouldn't we be able to share our knowledge?" _

Regina stopped moving and looked at Emma with surprise. "_I never really thought about it." _she confessed. _"But it's a possibility. Let's try it." _Regina said excited. "_Try to concentrate on me." _

_"I am always thinking about you." _Emma said, which made Regina smile lovingly.

"_Think of me speaking Spanish, what you have heard me say and absorb it." _Regina kept instructing.

Emma nodded in understanding.

"_And now, think of you speaking what I said." _Regina told her. "_Imagine yourself understanding the words you are saying and then speak loudly." _

Emma stood a few seconds in complete silence, absorbing Regina's instructions. She expected to feel some change in herself that would make her feel closer to the brunette, some sexual charm that dominated her and made Regina gulp and react just as much as she did when Regina saw her.

"Esto es una tontería." Emma complained loudly, earning the curious and confused glances of Belle, Snow and Charming. "Perdóname por hacerte perder el tiempo Regina. En verdad pensé que esto iba a funcionar." she pouted.

"Pero mi vida, si funcionó. Estás hablando español." Regina answered sweetly, making Emma react and smile brightly.

"Oh my God that is so hot!" Emma said excitedly. "Todas las cosas que ahora podré decirte sin que nadie las entienda." she husked to Regina who gulped loudly.

"Yo entiendo." Snow said while blushing, making Regina smile sweetly at her. "Lo encontraron?"

"Si." Regina answered. "Lo tengo aquí en mi mano." she added while raising her hand.

"Wait Regina you need to leave that where you found it." Belle said carefully. "That is very dangerous."

Emma looked at the small vial that Regina had in her hand and wondered at what moment she managed to grab it without her realizing it. Nevertheless, she felt the magic there, and already knowing what to do, she crashed against Regina and gave her the necessary distraction so she could put a protection spell on all of them and drop the vial. When Emma felt Regina's magic caress her she blushed. It reminded her of their time together last night, which in turn made Regina blush. Damn telepathy.

"Oh no!" Belle said while moving around the store. "This is very bad." she kept on rambling while moving forward to the back of the store.

"Are we in danger?" Snow asked, pretending fear very nicely.

"No, we are not. I know how to stop all of the enchantments from working in the store." she told them while opening the safe and taking out the dagger. "This should make the spell from the vial return to its place."

All of them looked expectantly at Belle, wondering if the dagger was going to break because of the lack of magical properties that it had. When she moved it in front of the liquid that was coming towards them, as expected the dagger did nothing.

"This is weird. It should work. Rumple told me it would work!" Belle screamed.

Regina looked knowingly at her, and with a flick of her wrist she made the liquid go back to the vial and left it where she found it.

"It didn't work because this is a fake, isn't it?" Belle asked sadly.

Regina nodded. "The blade will break soon because of the contact it had with the liquid. I'm sorry." she added in understanding. "I know how much you wanted to believe in his goodness."

Belle nodded and moved around the store monotonously, like she wasn't truly there. "Then he probably left with the dagger. I can't help you."

"How do you know we want your help?" Emma asked surprised and at the same time sad for her friend.

"Because of your plan to prove to me that you were right about Rum..., Mr. Gold." Belle said sadly. "I don't know where he is."

"We know." Charming said. "And we believe that he is in danger."

"He is being controlled." Snow said to a surprised Belle.

"Then I believe we all need to talk." Belle said seriously.

* * *

**PD: **So things will definitely get more interesting from here on. A small remark that I thought I could discuss. My Emma and Regina barely fight, and when they do it is always lightly. To some this may be a little fake (because all couples fight). Trust me, their path towards happiness is not easy, but I think that when you love someone as much as they do, it is very difficult to keep the resentment and hatred on. My Emma and Regina are well aware of how shitty life is, and because of that they know what things truly matter and deserve to be discussed (which is why they don't discuss much).

**Translation from the conversation between Emma, Regina and Snow.**

"Esto es una tonteria." This is stupid.

"Perdóname por hacerte perder el tiempo Regina." Sorry I just wasted your time Regina.

"En verdad pensé que esto iba a funcionar." I really thought this was going to work.

"Pero mi vida, si funcionó." But my darling, it did work.

"Estás hablando espanol." You are speaking Spanish.

"Todas las cosas que ahora podré decirte sin que nadie las entienda." All the things I will be able to tell you without anyone else understanding us.

"Yo entiendo." I understand.

"Lo encontraron?" Did you find it?

"Si. Lo tengo aquí en mi mano." Yes, I'm holding it in my hand.


End file.
